We Will Fall Together
by blackamber41
Summary: Sequel to Move Along. Summary in first chapter. TalaXOC
1. Introducing, Sadie

Summary- Two years have passed since Amy left Canada to live with Tala in Russia and things seem to be going well between them. When Amy starts to suffer eratic mood swings and suspicions arise about she and her co-worker, that may all change. Their relationship is on the ropes, and one can only wonder if it will ever be the same.

"And when we fall, we will fall together."

- Streetlight Manifesto

* * *

blackamber- I'm back with the sequel!

Amy- yipee...

blackamber- you should be happy! I demand happiness!

Bryan- wow... someone's a little cranky today

blackamber- I'm sorry... I'm recovering from a family emergency (that's why it took me a hwile to start the first chapter of this) I also... have an announcement for you Bryan!

Bryan- Due to popular vote, this story is, obviously, called We Will Fall Together. Blackamber would like to thank everyone who stated their imput

Amy- the usual disclaimer from Move Along

blackamber- start story :D

* * *

The wind howled outside blowing snow against the paneled glass windows. A husky, with a mix of greys, creams, whites, and blacks in his fur and a small tuft of red at his scruff snored loudly by the fire place, where the last embers snapped and popped.

A seventeen year old girl with hair that was two shades of blue slept noiselessly on the couch across from the fire. Usually she was up a lot later than this; staying awake until a certain _someone_ came home, but she found, lately, that she had become more and more tired. She, however, just ruled it off as work fatigue. She twitched slightly in her sleep; one hand behind her head and the other across her stomach, completely oblivious to the small storm outside.

The husky's ears twitched as the faint sound of a doorknob being turned brought him from his slumber. With a big yawn, the young dog rose to his feet and padded towards the door, stopping only a moment to pick up a toy to greet the red haired nineteen year old who had just walked in. Whimpering his greeting, the husky pressed the toy into the boy's leg and wagged his tail excitably.

"Hey Nic," the boy greeted, removing his coat and then proceeding to scratch the dog's head, "where's Aim?"

The dog, still holding his toy, let out a low huff, then turned towards the sitting room, where his mistress lay sleeping still.

A mischievous grin etched across the boy's face as he looked down at the sleeping girl on the couch. Moving closer to the girl, he placed one frigid hand against her face and watched, amused, as she twitched and moved her free hand to swat at what made her face cold. With her hand no longer resting on her stomach, the boy was free to place his other, ice cold hand underneath her shirt and let it rest on her bare stomach. This earned him an annoyed groan as the girl croaked out, "Some of us _are_ trying to sleep."

The boy grinned, locking his sapphire blue eyes with her silver grey ones and moved in to kiss her. "Really," he muttered against her lips, "I hadn't noticed."

"Clearly," the girl growled as the red haired boy moved over top of her after he had pulled away… briefly. "God your hands are cold," she shivered as he caressed her.

"And you're nice and warm," the boy smirked.

"I'm not a blanket, Tala," the girl scolded.

Tala rested his forehead against hers, "I know… but I like you better, Amy."

Amy rolled her eyes and stifled a yawn.

Tala's eyebrows creased in slight concern, it wasn't _that_ late and she was already this tired. "You alright?"

"Yeah… I just think work is catching up to me," Amy said, talking about her job with Mr. Dickenson, teaching beginners the rudiments of beyblading and, when ready, the more advanced styles.

"Oh," Tala raised an eyebrow and sneered, "just work? You sure it's not your _nightly activities_." He made a point of what he meant by running his hands seductively up her stomach and towards her chest.

Amy snorted, "Stop it."

"Why?" Tala whispered huskily in her ear.

"Because, this isn't the most comfortable place for that," Amy mocked.

Tala sighed and moved off her. "Very well," he breathed, leaning back against the couch. He kept a steady eye on her, sitting in silence. _You didn't mind this before,_ he thought with another sigh, wondering what had changed. Once again he asked, "Are you okay?"

In the darkness, he could not see Amy's slightly paler complexion, but he could see her nod. "Come on," she said, standing with a playful grin, "let's go somewhere more… comfortable."

* * *

Amy leaned against the counter of the, considering that Tala turned out to be filthy rich, house that she shared with him. Nicol chomped noisily at his food beside her. The younger of the Hiwatari siblings was now, in fact, taller than her older brother, but just by a little. Her attire was a complete 360 compared to what she used to wear two years ago. She wore dark denim jeans, a beige long sleeved shirt, and a dark brown sweater over that. Her hair was also longer, but not by a lot.

Putting her cell phone away she smiled down at the happy, furry face that panted up at her. "That was Brook," she explained as if the dog could hear her, "Claire has a little boy now. Looks like Emma has someone to play with now." The husky let out an enthusiastic bark in response to the happiness he detected in his mistresses voice. "'Course she'll have to wait a few years before Keith, that's what they named him, is old enough to play." The dog licked his chops, nudging his head into _his_ Amy's side.

The young woman laughed slightly, "Don't worry, you're still my boy." She tussled the dog's ears and scratched his red scruff. She heard the front door open and she sighed, so the calvalry arrives.

Without really announcing themselves, the Blitzkrieg Boys, minus her brother who had returned to Japan, waltz into the kitchen. "What's for breakfast Amy?" Bryan asked with a teasing smile.

"Hello to you too, Bryan," Amy rolled her eyes, "I don't know why Tala gave you guys a key."

"Speaking of Tala," Bryan began, "is he up yet?"

Amy shrugged, "Why don't you check for yourself."

"Personally, if I were to walk in on anyone in this house first thing in the morning, I would prefer it to be you," Bryan smirked.

Amy rolled her eyes once more and chucked a grape she was eating at him. "Pervert," she teased, having gotten used to his joking.

"Speak of the devil," Spencer grunted as Tala walked into the kitchen.

"You guys are here early," Tala commented, a little groggily, "why?"

"We love harassing your girlfriend, that's all," joked Bryan, earning another grape at his head.

Tala shook his head, then turned to said girlfriend. "I thought you'd be at work by now."

"I've got a few minutes to spare," Amy shrugged, popping a grape into her mouth. She smiled at her boyfriend, who looked like he had just thrown on whatever was nearby, "You should probably get changed."

Tala returned the shrug and stole some grapes from her. "You really have time to spare?"

Amy glanced over at the clock. "Shit!" she hissed, as Tala chuckled, watching her dash out the door with Nicol at her heels.

* * *

Amy sprinted through the frozen streets of Moscow, _I'm going to make it… if I just keep running and I don't sli-_

SLAM!

Amy groaned, looking up at the sky, Nicol panting above her. She sat up, shaking her head; her hip and butt hurting from the fall.

"Are you okay?" a young girl's voice asked.

Amy looked towards the speaker. She was at least ten; long black hair and dark eyes. Her attire was nothing new, warm winter wear from a nearby shop. "Yeah I'm fine," she told the girl, rising to her feet.

"That was some fall," the girl commented.

Amy just shrugged.

"You're dog is really cute," said the girl, scratching Nicol's head and obviously trying to start a conversation with the older girl.

"Look kid, I'm in a bit of a rush so-

"You're Amy Hiwatari aren't you?" the girl asked.

Amy didn't respond, part of her puzzled as to how the girl knew her name, the other getting her to focus on what she was supposed to be doing. She picked up her pace and was distraught to find that the girl matched it easily.

"My name's Sadie! I heard you're one of the best of the best!" the young girl rushed to catch up with the older teen, speaking breathlessly.

Amy hurried her pace even more, not responding, yet again, to the younger girl's statement.

"I heard even the world champ is no match for you!" Sadie persisted matching the older girl's pace once more.

"Well… that's hard to say, I've never fought him," Amy said.

"But you're still one of the best, right?"

"Yeah… look kid, is there a reason you're following me all over Moscow?" demanded Amy.

"Uh-huh," Sadie nodded ecstatically, "I wanna test you're Hien against my Anubis!"

* * *

blackamber- how was that for a first chapter. Will Amy accept the battle invite? Or will she continue on her way to work? I love cliffies...

Sadie- isn't it a bit late for one

Amy- woah! What are you doing here?

Sadie- I'm one of her characters which means I have a right, just like you, to be in these notes.

Amy- Nu-uh... being in the end note and starter note is a... rite of passage.

Sadie- what?

Amy- you have to prove that you are ready to be in these notes

Sadie- that's not fair!

Amy- that's life

blackamber- well... I can see you two are going to get along just great

Tala- (sigh) R&R


	2. Amy's Apprentice

blackamber- sorry this took so long... I was working on homework and preparing for a play that my school's Drama Club is putting on.

Amy- (disbelief) you're in a play?

blackamber- yes I am (proudly)

Bryan- any annoucements today?

blackamber- not so much... aside from I don't really like this chapter. I apologize if it seems a little boring right now... I promise it'll pick up, just bear with me.

Sadie- Usual disclaimer!

* * *

Amy did a double take on the young girl. "You what?"

"I want to test _my_ Anubis against _your_ Hien," Sadie repeated.

"Um… kid, I'm not sure if you heard, but I am kinda in a rush so, bye." Amy continued at her speed walking pace, trying to get away from the determined ten year old.

"Fight me first!" ordered Sadie.

"I can't! I have work! And… I don't even beyblade anymore," said Amy, truthfully.

"But you gotta fight me!" begged Sadie.

"Sorry, you're barking up the wrong tree," Amy said.

"If I don't fight you, I can't go home!" Sadie cried.

Amy blinked at the girl. "What?"

"I swore to my brother that I wouldn't come home until I fought you, or someone from your team," Sadie stated.

"Then… why don't you fly down to China or Japan… or America," said Amy.

"Because I only have enough to fly home from here," said Sadie. "Please!"

Amy sighed, exasperated. "Fine! Fine… just a quick one. Alright?"

Sadie nodded, "Thank you!!"

"Yeah, yeah," Amy muttered, fetching Hien from her pocket, "but if I'm late it's your head."

The girl nodded once more and fetched her own blade. The blade was gold and black, in the center, where the bit sat, the bit beast Anubis loomed. It was a spirit in the form of the Egyptian God of the Underworld; a creature with a human body and a jackal's head.

Amy's old black with red flames blade still served her well enough, she was in no rush to replace it. The blade looked worn, but it held together well; it had character and proved its strength in battle. Sadie's blade, however, looked almost brand new, like it had never been used before. Amy had a feeling that she had either gotten a new blade recently, or she wasn't an avid shooter.

"3… 2… 1…" Amy voiced.

"Let it rip!" Sadie yelled launching her Anubis, a little off target.

Amy said nothing as she launched Hien, folding her arms across her chest as she watched her blade spin in beside her, completely controlled, as Anubis spun wildly across the ground. "You don't have very good control," she commented, watching as the blade continued on an unknown path to nowhere.

"That's what you think," Sadie said, a little shakily, "Anubis attack!"

Amy merely nodded at Hien, letting him take control of the battle. That didn't stop him from asking, _What move would you like me to use?_

_Whatever ends this battle the fastest, I have to get to work._

_Scarlet Flame?_

_That's a bit much, isn't it?_

_Volcanic Rage?_

_No, use Heat Flash._

_Why couldn't you have just said that in the first place?_

_I didn't think of it._

The bit beast moved to obey, appearing with a loud howl and a flash of fire.

"Come on out, Anubis!" Sadie ordered, "use Guardian Tomb!" The blade flailed towards Hien, Anubis appearing over the gold blade.

_Now,_ Amy thought to her bit beast, already well aware of Sadie's weakness.

Hien tore towards Anubis, letting lose the wave of fire that was his move Heat Flash. Before Anubis could even begin the Guardian Tomb move, he was sent flying. An attack he did not recover from.

"Ahh! I don't understand!? Why did I lose? I was told Anubis is the most powerful bit beast in all of Egypt!" the young girl cried.

"I thought that's where you were from," commented Amy, "and it takes a lot more than just a strong bit beast to win a match."

"But you and Hien-

"Hien is powerful, but it's not his power that wins the matches alone. It's our bond, our teamwork. I would give you more of a lecture, but I really gotta go. See ya around kid," Amy waved, breaking into a sprint.

"Amy you're late!" a male voice called.

"I know, I know!" Amy called back, "I ran into a little trouble."

A boy, a couple of months older than Amy, sighed and shook his head. "You can't even arrive on time for a half-day."

"I'm not _that_ late Ben," Amy rolled sneered, "you've been later." She placed a shaky hand to her forehead, suddenly feeling a little sick. This had been going on for almost a week now. She would feel random flashes of nausea; sometimes it would pass, sometimes it wouldn't. Luckily today, it passed, but not before Ben noticed.

"You okay?" her co-worker asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Amy responded, turning her attention to the younger students in her group. "Alright, follow me!"

"This is what you do?" an annoying young voice asked.

Amy turned to the black haired ten-year old. "Yes, Sadie, this is what I do, now why are you here?"

"I was hoping, if you had a moment-

"Well, I don't."

"Oh… I'll make it quick."

"Can't this wait?"

Sadie shook her head, "Please?"

Amy took a quick glance towards her students. "Alright, fast."

"I want to be your apprentice."

Amy choked on the air she had just inhaled. "You what?" she coughed.

"Be your apprentice. Learn all your tricks and-

"As I've already told you, I don't beyblade anymore; I just teach kids the rudiments. If you want to learn to become better, ask Ben."

"You fought me," argued Sadie, crossing her arms.

"That's because you wouldn't leave me alone and I couldn't afford to be late."

"Please! I can't have any other master but you! You're the best there is!"

"No I'm not," argued Amy, "you're truthfully barking up the wrong tree right now. I'm not going to be your… master."

"Why not!? Am I not worth your time, is that it?"

"It's not that… I just don't believe in the principles of 'master'."

"Then I won't call you that! Please Amy."

"Look, I have work to do. My answer is no, so I suggest you get on your way kid." Amy turned away from Sadie, leading her group, and Nicol, deeper into the building.

"Nic, easy with your ripcord," Amy told a young boy with brown hair, who reminded her suspiciously of Kaylie. "Look how Angel does it; see how she doesn't just tear it out. Get control of your launch first, then work on your ferocity." The young boy nodded his head, feeding his ripcord into his shooter.

Nicol sighed with a huff as he law bored at Amy's feet. He looked up at his mistress when she had said 'Nic,' but quickly realized that she was not referring to him, and rested his head once more onto his paws. He didn't understand what was so interesting about the spinning tops, but no matter the reason for the interest, he understood that it was important to his mistress and his lifestyle.

"Today is just a half-day, kids, so we're going to try to get through a lot today. Angel, you can join Collin and work on your attack styles. Nic, I want you to keep working on your launch; you've almost got it just need to work on it a little more." The three children nodded, the young girl rushing to do what their teacher bid. She turned to the other girl in the group, "Lizzie… you need to work on your control. Launch your blade and I want you to get your blade to weave through the pylons I have set up over there." The young girl, with blond girls, nodded happily, skipping towards the orange pylons.

"You think that will help?" Sadie asked.

"You shouldn't be in here," growled Amy, "and yes it will. It teaches them control and where their weaknesses lie. The more you practice with your blade, the better you get."

Sadie nodded then began writing in a small notebook that seemed to appear from nowhere.

"What are you doing?" Amy asked.

"Well, if I'm going to be your apprentice, I should probably take notes of what you teach," answered Sadie, putting her pen down.

"You… are not going to be my apprentice."

"But why?"

"Because I don't want an apprentice!"

"But why?"

"Sadie-

"We can call it something else then, something besides apprentice. Like maybe… intern… or-

"Sadie! I'm not looking for an apprentice or intern… I-

Sadie looked down sadly. "I understand," she sniffed, "you don't have to say anymore. I get it." She sighed heftily and began to shuffle away.

Amy watched her go then sighed irritably, _When did I get so soft_? "Sadie… come back here… I'll… I'll teach you to become a better shooter."

* * *

blackamber- I don't really have much to say in this end note... sooo...

Tala- I guess that's my cue. R&R


	3. The Conditions

blackamber- whew... I finally updated...

Sadie- (holding burning torch) GET HER!

blackamber- AHHH! What's this all about?

Sadie- (teary-eyed) You abandoned us!

blackamber- I did not! I was busy. Culminatings and all that jazz... but I'm back now... and with a vengeance!

Amy- You'd better be...

blackamber- I think she's finally forgiven me for almost killing her...

Amy- Twice...

Bryan- blackamber says she's still suffering a little from writer's block so any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Sadie- ON WITH THE STORY!!

Amy- usual disclaimer

* * *

"Where are we going now?" Sadie asked as she followed Amy out of the school.

"_We_ are going nowhere. _I _am meeting up with people," Amy responded, whistling for Nicol to follow.

"Who?"

"Friends of mine."

"What are their names?"

"None of your business."

"But, if I am to be your apprentice, shouldn't I get to know the people you hang out with too?"

"That wasn't part of the deal, kid." Amy continued on her path to where she knew the Blitzkrieg Boys would be training.

"Oh! I know. We're going to see your boyfriend aren't we?" Sadie asked, smiling cheekily.

"Like I said, _we_ are going nowhere."

"Ha! But you don't deny that we're going to see Tala! You know I've only seen him once and that was when the World Tournament came to Cairo for a few days. He didn't seem like that good of a shooter there."

"He was having an off week," Amy growled, starting to regret agreeing to train the young nuisance.

"So, he is really good right? At beyblading I mean," questioned Sadie.

Amy, realizing that no matter what she said Sadie was going to follow her, sighed. "Why don't you check it out for yourself."

Sadie giggled in delight and raced off down a random street.

"Hey! Where are you going!?" Amy yelled, mentally kicking herself while doing so.

"Don't they train-

"Bolkov Abbey has been closed for years. No one lives there anymore."

"Oh." Sadie raced back to the older girl, glancing over her shoulder briefly at the abandoned Abbey. The sight of it sent shivers down her spine. "It's kinda creepy."

Amy followed her gaze and nodded. "Yeah that part never changes. It was creepy when I was younger and it's still creepy now. C'mon let's go."

* * *

"ACK!" Ian cried out as a big furry thing tackled him.

Nicol sat determinedly on the teenaged boy's chest, looking quite proud of himself.

"Hey Nic," Bryan greeted, having gotten quite fond of the young husky.

In response, the dog gave a low whuff, refusing to get off of Ian, who was begging for help from one of his team mates. The husky wagged his tail, panting happily at the boys, minus the one he was sitting on.

"Nic, get off him," Tala laughed at the dog, who seemed to sigh disappointedly as he obeyed.

"Sorry about that Ian," Amy chuckled, "I don't really understand why he likes to harass you so much."

Ian grumbled incoherently under his breath, rising to his feet.

"So… what's with the kid?" Bryan asked, pointing to Sadie who was standing directly Amy.

"Guys, this is Sadie," Amy said, motioning to said kid. "She's my-

"I'm Amy's apprentice!" Sadie exclaimed with zeal.

Bryan and Ian both snorted at the idea whilst Tala and Spencer just looked confused.

"You're her what?" Tala asked.

"Her apprentice," responded Sadie, "she's going to work with me to become a better shooter. _I'm_ going to learn _all_ of her tricks."

"You do know she's retired, right?" Bryan asked in between laughs.

"Retired?" Sadie echoed, cocking her head to the side in a questioning sort of manner.

"Yeah, you know… she doesn't beyblade anymore," Ian confirmed.

"That's what I've tried to tell her… but in the end she talked me into it," Amy sighed, walking towards the boys, "she played the guilt-trick."

"When did you become such a softie?" Tala chuckled wrapping a possessive arm around her waist.

"Probably after meeting you," Amy countered, smiling slyly at him.

"So… can we train now?" Sadie asked, obviously interrupting something.

Both Tala and Amy sighed before looking at the small, dark haired girl. "Shouldn't you be getting home?" Tala asked, releasing Amy.

"My home is in Egypt, and I can return to where I am staying whenever I want," Sadie stated proudly, approaching Amy. "So can we train? Please please please please pllleeeeeaaaaaassssseeeeeee!"

"YES! If you promise to never do that again I will teach you _whatever_ you want to know!" Amy yelled in frustration. _God, I hate little kids_, she thought, feeling another wave of nausea wash over her, but like the one earlier that day, it passed.

"YAY!" Sadie cheered rushing to a dish and retrieving her Anubis blade. She attached it to the shooter and readied herself for launch.

"What are you doing?" Amy asked, folding her arms across her chest.

"Getting ready to learn, what else?" Sadie responded, "now let's go."

Amy laughed, "You and I both know you're not going to learn anything that way, at least, not when you're only going to be fighting me. You're not ready for that."

"Aww! What's that supposed to mean?" Sadie challenged.

"Exactly what it sounds like," Amy growled, "put your blade away."

With an annoyed sigh, Sadie obeyed, glaring daggers at Amy. "Now what?"

"You're going to come with me, that's what," Amy motioned towards exit. She paused beside Tala, sighing, "I'll see you tonight," and kissed his cheek.

"Alright," Tala sighed, a little disappointed he didn't get more than a kiss on the cheek.

Sadie rushed after her, still upset over the fact that she wasn't going to be shooting yet.

* * *

"Beyblading is 30 percent pure skill, 20 percent physical, and 50 percent mental. You cannot win a battle without this balance. Now, not every shooter is a regular Einstein, I certainly am not," Amy began, after leading Sadie into a park.

"So… how do they make up for their mental portions?" Sadie asked, sitting in the snow.

"They compensate by using a different form of mental power. They observe and learn." Amy stared down at the younger girl, near laughing at the look of pure confusion on her face. "Let me explain. My friend Kaylie is a regular Einstein, she does not _need_ to observe her enemies to judge their fighting style and how to counter them, and she makes up a battle plan in advance to the battle using only the stats shown to all competitors. I, however, will usually watch my opponent's matches, all of them and that's how I learn their technique and counter it. I take what I see and apply it to my advantage. There are many types of shooters out there, some have similar styles others are different. A good team is usually made up of people who have different styles.

"The Silver Fangs, for example, has offensive striker- me, the defensive- Courtney, the quick shooter- Brook, the shaky-yet-strangely-lucky-shooter- Melissa, and our Einstein. Now, for an offensive shooter, like myself, I need the observation since my defence is weak, however, I have trick that helps in strange battles. I can hide my style. Every style has a tell-tale sign and only the best know how to recognize it and learn, through memorization, how to handle each. And only the best of the best know how to hide their own to trick their opponents into making stupid mistakes."

Sadie jumped to her feet, getting quite excited again. "You're going to teach me how to recognize the styles aren't you?"

"That was my plan," Amy smiled, "but first, you need to learn what to look for and patience."

Sadie's face fell. It was obvious patience was not her strong point. "But I want to learn it all now," she whined.

"Patience is a virtue, Sadie, and you will learn it or you will learn nothing at all." Amy's gaze darkened as she strode over to Sadie. "You wanted to be my apprentice? Well, now you know what it takes. I'm not going to go easy on you nor am I going to allow you to cut corners. You will work until you reach perfection, I will accept no less from _my_ apprentice."

Sadie gazed at Amy in new admiration. She was really going to learn everything from one of the best shooters in the world. Her stomach was doing summersaults in anticipation.

"Well, if it's too much you can always back out now." Secretly, Amy hoped she wouldn't. Hearing Sadie whine made her realize how, for lack of a better word, pathetic she really was at shooting, not too mention it could teach her an important life lesson.

"No, no," Sadie said urgently, "I'm ready. I'll do everything you ask without complaint… okay with minor complaint, but I'll learn. I promise."

Amy inhaled and exhaled deeply, locking eyes with the younger girl. "I hold you to your promise, Sadie."

Sadie gave a small jump for joy.

"If there's one thing I will teach you, it is that your word is your bond. If you agree to do something, you'd damn well do it, or don't come back."

"But I thought you were teaching me patience?"

Amy smirked, "Kid, I think by the end of this, we'll both have learned to be a lot more patient and tolerant."

* * *

Amy- I really can't believe you finally updated...

blackamber- Neither can I...

Sadie- Why am I such a sucky shooter?

blackamber- 'Cause if you weren't there would be no purpose for your character

Sadie- Meanie...

blackamber- (offended) I am not! It's the truth...

Amy- The truth hurts sometimes Sadie...

Sadie- (whiney voice) But still...

Tala- R&R


	4. Training Sadie

blackamber- I AM SOOOO SORRY!! I went away for a while, then I got caught up at work, and then I started focusing on a novel I am writing. Truthfully, I kinda forgot about this…

Sadie- You forgot about us? (sniffles then starts sobbing loudly)

Amy- Oh hush up! This isn't the first time she's done this…

Sadie- Yeah I know… but it still hurts…

blackamber- Yeah, I know... but to make up for it though, I made this chapter longer and with some drama at the end

Courtney- ON WITH THE STORY!!

Brook- and the usual disclaimer goes here.

* * *

Tala yawned and rolled over in his bed, his arm draping across where Amy usually slept. The absence of her body did not surprise the older-teen, for she was often awake before him, but it was the fact that her side was cold that worried him. She was never up _that_ early. He opened his sapphire eyes and peered at the spot in confusion, as though the answer to his ponderings might reveal itself if he just stared at the spot long enough. Once realizing that it wasn't, Tala removed himself from the warmth of his bed's blankets and proceeded to get dressed and move to the kitchen for breakfast.

It was in this particular room- the kitchen that is- that he found the answer to his early morning mystery; a sticky note stuck to a cupboard covered in Amy's neat handwriting.

_Getting an early start with Sadie,_

_didn't want to wake you. I have to_

_stop by my work afterwards but I will be home_

_later; so I'll see you at dinner (possibly?) _

_Love you, Amy_

Tala wanted to laugh at the implied question. '_Don't worry Aim. You'll see me at dinner,'_ he thought to himself as he removed the sticky note from the cupboard door. He read it over a few more times, savoring her penmanship. Most days, this was the most they communicated, through notes or brief words in the morning. At night, or most nights… they were too (cough) busy and their words come out incoherently or in between breaths, which meant that it took a ridiculously long time for them to say so much as one short sentence.

And the nights they weren't busy, it meant they were just too tired. It seemed like their relationship was in a bit of a rut. It wasn't that they didn't like to talk to one another or spend time together, Tala missed those times when they did and he knew, from constant comments about them when they _did _talk, that Amy did too. It was just, well, he was a guy, a teen whom throughout most of his life was deprived of any and all human interaction outside of bey shooting, and his hormones- as he liked to think of it- went on overdrive when _his_ girl was around.

'_Tonight,_' he vowed silently, '_we'll talk over dinner tonight._'

* * *

"C'mon Sadie, keep up," Amy called behind her, pushing herself up the slippery, snow covered hills that rolled throughout the Russian wilderness. Ahead of her, Nicol ran, sniffing every tree that came into sight. She sent a soundless prayer that there were no hunters in the area to mistake her beloved dog as a wolf.

"Can't we take a break, Amy?" whined Sadie, panting heavily and trailing a good few feet behind her mentor. "We've been hiking like this since dawn."

Amy rolled her eyes; stopping at the top of the hill she was climbing to stare down at her young apprentice. "You'll never learn that way. This builds your stamina, the longer you go for, the easier it is to match and soon you'll be able to do it quicker, and then it will lead to you being able to go even father without tiring."

"What does this have to do with bey shooting?"

"Everything." Amy turned away once more, beginning her decent and traveling deeper into the wilderness. She wouldn't admit it, but she too was beginning to feel tired, fatigued. It was odd though, this hike was nothing compared to what she could do three months ago, or even a few weeks ago. Slowly, her energy had slipping away and she had an idea why. For as quickly as her energy was dissipating, her stomach was growing. No one had noticed as of yet, and she would like to keep it that way for a while longer.

Another thing she would not admit to is the most plausible, possibility as to _why_ her stomach was growing; she had just ruled it off as she was not being as active as she was three months ago- truthfully though, she was more active now than ever, with her job and training Sadie, he barely had a moments rest.

"Just a bit further, alright?" she reasoned, fighting hard to keep the breathlessness out of her voice.

"How much further?" Sadie asked, finally dragging herself to the top of the hill Amy had just tackled.

"Three more hills," stated Amy, knowing that three- in her state- would even be a bit of a struggle for her, but of course she'd never let it show. She heard Sadie groan behind her, but she also heard the crunching of her faithful apprentices boots on the snow as she obediently moved to please her mentor.

"How about two and a half?" Sadie bartered as she half trudged, half slid down the hill.

"How about three," Amy retorted firmly.

"Why not two and half?"

"Or we can make it six."

"Three's good."

"I thought so," Amy smirked, continuing on ahead of Sadie, but behind Nicol- who was surprised by that. Usually Amy was jogging beside him, even in the deep snow. Thinking her sick or injured, he found himself running back to her, checking on her regularly with gently head-butting against the legs and sympathetic whimpers.

'_Even Nic can sense something's different, it's only a matter of time before Tala does,_' a voice hissed in her head.

_Perhaps you should see a doctor and check in with your work another time._ Hien's voice came suddenly; worry was evident in his tone.

_No, I can't. Ben said it was an emergency and I had to come as soon as I could,_ Amy responded.

_If it were such a big emergency, you would be down there already wouldn't you?_ questioned suspiciously.

_You're just saying that because you don't like him, and Ben said it wasn't too important._

_It's not that I don't like him, little warrior, it's more that I don't trust him. He reminds me too much of Cole._

_Little warrior… you haven't called me that in a _long_ time,_ Amy laughed, trying not to take notice of what Hien had just said about Ben.

_Pretty soon, I'll be calling another with your blood that same name._ Amy could hear the smile in his voice and could almost visualize his tail wagging.

_You don't know that,_ she quickly snapped back, denial being her best friend when she was trying to come to terms with why her body was changing on her.

"Are we stopping here instead?" Sadie's voice interrupted the conversation between shooter and bitbeast.

"No… sorry I was just collecting my thoughts," Amy lied, pressing onward once more.

With another melodramatic groan, Sadie followed once more; dragging her feet like a pouting toddler. Amy shook the thought out of her head, why did she just think that about her apprentice?

* * *

"So… now what?" Sadie asked, a little out of breath, as they finally reached the hill that Amy promised they'd stop at.

"We watch." Amy sank into a crouch at the top of the hill.

"Watch what?"

Amy did not respond, her eyes locked forward on the clearing ahead of them. Nicol sat, panting at her side, still worried as to what was slowing his tireless mistress. He whimpered and nudged her side with his muzzle. She pat him diligently on the head, "Hush now Nic."

"Is this to teach me patience?" Sadie asked.

Amy nodded, "And observation… but you'll not learn anything if you do not be quiet."

"But it's sooo cold! Why couldn't we have learned this somewhere warm," complained Sadie.

"Will you shut up. You'll scare them away," snapped Amy.

"Scare who?"

Once more, Amy did not respond but pointed forward into the clearing, where a herd of reindeer were moving through the clearing, unfazed by the wildlife around them.

"When did they-

"If you were observing, rather than talking you would have noticed them earlier. You'll never make it as a bey shooter if you don't know how to observe what's around you. Just by sitting here, I know that the herd is calm because they're upwind; they have yet to smell the pack of wolves circling in around them."

"You can tell that much just from observing the herd?" Sadie asked in amazement.

"Not just the herd," Amy corrected, "everything surrounding the herd as well. The landscape, the forest, even you and Nic."

"Umm… how close are the wolves?" inquired Sadie, nervously.

"Very close," stated Amy curtly. "We are in no danger."

"You sure?"

"Mostly."

Sadie gulped at Amy's answer. "W-why only mostly?"

"Because there is something else out there that I have yet to identify," answered Amy, "and it's hungry too."

Sadie began to tremble violently, searching the trees for any sign of danger.

"Relax, you'll never be able to spot it if you search like that," Amy ordered, not even looking over at the young girl. "You move like that, whatever's out there will know you're scared and feed off that fear, it'll take advantage of it and see it as a sign of weakness. You need to relax and observe by only moving your eyes, not your entire body. Slowly, scan the area. Look for movement, listen for sounds, watch for interactions."

There was a momentary pause, then, at the head of the herd, there was movement.

"There!" Amy pointed, in a hushed voice, "that's not the wolves that have set the stag off, the wolves are still downwind. Now… what are you?" The last part was more to herself than to anything.

Sadie didn't quite understand what this had to do with bey shooting, all she knew was she was cold and scared, even though now she knew where the potential danger was. She watched that area with quiet interest, searching the tree-line. "If it were something big… we would've spotted it already," she said, not really meaning for Amy to hear. "If it's hunting, it's probably about the same height as the wolves… maybe some kind of cat."

Amy smiled, "You're learning quick. It's a snow leopard."

Sadie gawked in surprise, "You knew!?"

"No… but after careful observation I made an educated guess. With the coloring of its fur it would blend in perfectly with its surroundings." As Amy spoke there was more movement at the head of the herd; in chaotic formation, the herd dashed forward trying to escape the predator, or rather predators. The wolves had made their appearance, not ready to watch their lunch get away.

"C'mon, we're going back," Amy ordered, rising from her crouched position.

"Already? But we just stopped," whined Sadie.

"And now we're leaving again."

Sadie groaned and turned back the way they had just come. After a few moments of silence, Sadie ventured to ask the one question that plagued her since reaching the hill. "Why is that going to help me beyblade better?"

"When you learn to observe your surroundings, you learn to use them to your advantage. In a trick bey-dish, you may find a way to use the traps to stop your opponent, and it's most affective against opponents whose skill is higher than yours. You'll get better at observation the more you use it, and you'll learn what you need to look for faster, when you're in a situation that calls for you to observe your opponent and your surroundings to survive. That's why I brought you out here, to put you in a situation where you'd have to observe to survive. On your own, once you calmed down, you learned what to search for, what you were up against, or at least received the knowledge to make an educated guess as to what you were up against.

"You're learning fast, and that's good. At this rate we may get to you bey shooting by the end of the month."

"Really!?" Sadie asked excitedly.

Amy nodded, "but only if you keep up this progress. You've done well for the past month. I'm very impressed."

Sadie's heart swelled with joy at those words. She had impressed her mentor and she had heard the acceptance, no the pride in Amy's voice as she spoke. Sadie walked behind Amy without complaint now, knowing that she had impressed her mentor was a big deal and she didn't want to ruin it with a pity complaint. '_I promise, Amy, I'll make you so proud of me you won't even believe it._'

* * *

It was all too easy for Amy to call Ben and tell him that she couldn't make it to his 'Emergency', she had decided that as Sadie and she got back to Moscow that she was much too tired, and feeling a little light-headed, to go to any meeting of any sort. She just wanted to go home and lounge on the couch. She used the excuse that she wasn't feeling well- which wasn't a total lie- and promised to meet with him tomorrow.

The warmth of Tala's house greeted her as she walked through the front door. She didn't announce her presence, since usually no one was home when she returned so she was greatly surprised to hear Tala's questioning voice asking who it was. (A/N: Remember, his teammates have a key to the house too).

"It's just me," she called to her red-haired lover.

He appeared in the hall doorway in a heartbeat, "I wasn't expecting you home so soon, I thought you were stopping at your work."

"I was going to, but by the time I got back with Sadie, I just wasn't feeling up to it," she explained, removing her coat and hanging it up.

"Oh?" he inquired, "are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm just feeling a little light-headed. I guess I shouldn't have pushed myself so hard so early," she joked, making up her excuse on the spot.

Tala raised an inquisitive eyebrow, not believing her for a second. He knew how active she was, a little hike through the snow, especially today's snowfall, would not be enough to make her light-headed, no matter how long she was gone for. "You sure?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I just need to relax for a little while that's all," she insisted, moving closer to him. "A little warmth, some comfort?" She wore her seductive smile and raised an eyebrow of her own at him.

Her lover grinned at her, readily wrapping his arms around her and pulling her to him. "I was just concerned, that's all. You've kinda been out of it for a while now; flashes of nausea- yes I have noticed them. I just want to know what's going on."

Amy winced, first Ben noticed them now Tala has been; she wanted to shake off this info and try reassure him, but she found herself instead asking, "How?"

"How what?"

"How did you notice? I thought-

"Aside from me, the only people who know you better are probably your former teammates and the Carters," stated he, truthfully. "What's going on?"

That wasn't a question, it was a demand for an answer; an honest answer.

Amy winced once more, searching for an answer through every corner of her mind. "I," she paused, "I don't really know." At least that was partially true; she didn't exactly know what was going on, or rather wouldn't accept what was going on. "I wish I knew, but I don't… maybe I'm just coming down with something…" she muttered the last part to herself more than anything.

Tala sighed, entirely believing what Amy said. He knew she was hiding something, but then again, she always seemed to have her secrets. That frustrated him to no end; the fact that she felt that she couldn't trust him enough to tell him what was going on with her. "Aim," there was a small warning tone in his voice, but hidden beneath it was worry, somewhere beneath it.

"I don't know!" she shrieked, jerking away from him.

Tala blinked at her in surprise, she _never_ shrieked; now he knew for sure something was wrong. "Amy…" he said a little more gently, offering to embrace her once more.

Amy, however, shook her head. "I just need to lie down," she mumbled, moving past him and down the hallway towards the staircase.

Tala sighed; running his fingers through his red locks, he would find out what was wrong with her, but not today. Today he'd let her go telling himself that it was just the feeling of being light-headed that made shriek in- what could've been mistaken as- fear.

He shook his head; that was crazy. Amy, scared? It was not improbable but given the situation they were in, highly unlikely. With another sigh, Tala moved into the living room, sinking into the couch with Nicol at his feet. "What's up with her, huh Nic?" he asked the dog, who just looked back at him with a confused expression. He then let out a low whimper and turned his head towards the very staircase Amy had ascended not moments before.

"What's wrong?" he asked as the dog suddenly bolted up and bounded towards the stairs, barking in alarm. Tala was racing after him as though the devil were chasing them both, he could only think of one thing that would set the dog off like that.

'_Amy_.'

blackamber- I'm sooo cruel... I take forever to update then I throw in a cliffie at the end. I promise the next chapter will be up really soon... like tomorrow evening... or sunday... monday at latest. I don't really know 'cause I have the plot in my head but I haven't started writing it.

Sadie- Well at least the plot's there... or we wouldn't even have an ounce of hope of it being written

blackamber- hey! I'm not THAT unreliable

Sadie- Oh yeah? how many months has it been since you last updated?

blackamber- (mumbles incoherently)

Sadie- My point exactly

blackamber- I really regret creating you

Amy- at some moments, so do I

Bryan- As a special treat, blackamber is posting some future quotes in hopes that it will prevent people from hunting her down and killing her for taking so long to update

**The Quotes**

(you'll notice I don't use names here... that's so nothing is really given away... though you may be able to tell whose speaking)

**Quote 1: from a not so distant chapter (GASP!)**

Speaker 1: Sometimes I wonder if you even trust me

Speaker 2: Sometimes you wonder if _I _trust _you_? You accuse me of cheating and then you wonder if I trust you. (Speaker sighs irritably, paces on the spot a bit; appears to be thinking painfully. Speaker sighs again) You know... maybe... (sounds close to tears) maybe we should just... take a break...

**Quote 2:**

Speaker 1: Where's Tala? I want to shake his hand then kick his ass!

Speaker 2: (sighs) Ummm... please don't I kinda need him alive

**Quote 3:**

Speaker 1: You have to promise me you won't call him!

Speaker 2: (blank) he has a right to know... he is the-

Speaker 1: I know! But I can't... (pause) I can't deal with him right now...

**Quote 4:**

Speaker 1: You know... I suddenly have a dark desire to call Kai

Speaker 2: (clearly interested) why?

Speaker 1: 'Cause I know he'll flip when he finds out what-

Speaker 3: (Watching unknown person practice) (blank) you are officially banned from any contact with a phone

Speaker 1: I was joking!

Speaker 3: I'm not.

Bryan- well, there you have it!

Tala- R&R

blackamber- ps. I really like quote 2... and I'd like to hear what you guys think of these quotes, or quotes you liked from previous chapters or even from the chapters from Move Along. Well, anyways, till next time!


	5. Caught in the Act?

blackamber- Hey! I kept my word!!

Amy- I am impressed

Sadie- as am I... I think I'll forgive you now

blackamber- yay! Also... if anyone hates this chapter, you're not alone... I'm none to fond of it either

Amy- does that even make sense?

blackamber- I'm not sure...

Bryan- You took writer's craft... you should know... and you're writing a novel! If you can't tell if a sentence makes sense or not how are you ever going to write a coherent story!

blackamber- I don't like you very much right now...

Amy- usual disclaimer

* * *

Amy felt horrible when she came around. Her head was aching- so was her stomach but she'd worry about that later- and her vision was extremely blurry. She had to blink a few times before she could clearly see the painfully white ceiling of the master bedroom- where she and Tala slept. She was trying to figure out what she was doing before she had passed out, but she couldn't for the life of her remember. It had something to do with her light-headedness and-

"You're awake," Tala's voice came from the right of her, "that's good. I was going to call the doctor, but I thought I'd wait to see how you were feeling."

Amy pondered how to respond. Good? Better? Both were lies, with the pain in her head she felt no better than like crap. Then realization hit her; he had said he might call the doctor. If the doctor came, he would clearly know what was wrong… and if the doctor knew what was wrong, he'd tell Tala. So she lied. "I'm feeling better… much better in fact. You don't need to call a doctor."

She hated lying to Tala when he was just concerned for her well being, but she'd rather he not know anything until she was ready to accept it herself, no matter how long it took.

"You sure?"

She had heard that question so much lately that it was getting on her nerves. "Yes!" she near snapped, "I'm fine now." She knew that probably looking at her was enough to tell him that she wasn't actually feeling better at all, but she could tell from the expression on his face that he was going to let this lie slide.

"Alright… I guess you would know best, right?" he said, half-joking, "but I think you should take it easy for a little while; maybe take a break from work and training Sadie."

"I can't do that Tala, you know I can't," Amy argued.

"Well, I think you should." Tala argued back rather roughly.

Amy was taken slightly aback by the harshness of his words. "Tala, there's something I need to talk to Ben about, I can only talk to him at work."

"Oh, so you'll talk to him but not to me?" asked Tala, snarkily.

"He asked me to come in today for an emergency, whatever the emergency was I need to find out," Amy continued arguing her 'cause, trying not to match Tala's tone, no matter how hard it was.

"Seems that that happens a lot now-a-days, doesn't it?"

"Tala that's not-

"We don't interact with each other outside of what we do come nightfall… and even then is it for the want of company… or to satisfy our lust?"

"What are you saying?" Amy sat up, glaring at him straight in the eye.

"I'm just saying that, perhaps, I don't like how close you and Ben are getting," he snarled moving closer to her. There was anger, frustration and slight concern in his eyes; yet there was still lust in his eyes, there was always lust.

"Tala, I understand where you're coming from," Amy said, struggling to keep her temper, "I'll just call Ben and he can explain over the phone, okay."

Tala was now really surprised; Amy would never take that sitting down unless something was really wrong. He sat on the edge of the bed studying her silver-grey eyes in disbelief. "Now I really know something's wrong."

"Tala-

"Don't lie to me!"

"I haven't been feeling well for a while. I don't know what's wrong with me, but it's nothing for you to worry about," Amy said still holding her tongue. "I know I don't have much to go on, but you have to believe me when I say that I don't know why I'm sick."

Tala sighed, "Alright… maybe… I over-reacted. It's like I don't know what's happening with you anymore, and when you passed out I panicked a bit, alright."

Amy smiled at him, her anger subsiding. Somehow, it always made her relax knowing that he cared about her this much. Her happiness was quickly replaced by confusion when she felt something wet running down her cheeks; and one look told her Tala was confused as well.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong?" he asked, much more gently than before, and gathered her in his arms.

"I don't know," she whimpered against his chest, "I just started…" She stopped feeling more tears falling. '_Oh God, it's starting… oh God, oh God, oh God._'

_You can't tell me you're surprised?_

_Shut-up Hien!_

_Wow… you're mood swings _are_ bad,_ Hien mocked.

"Maybe I should call the doctor anyway," Tala said, rubbing her back soothingly. For the first time in a long time, the feeling of lust went away, replaced by simple concern and love.

"No, no, it's fine," Amy mumbled, finding herself almost clinging to him, "I'll be fine." She forced her self to unlace her fingers, then proceeded to wipe away her tears. "See, I'm fine." As if to prove her point further, she attempted to get out of bed.

Tala, however, wasn't about ready for her go that far. With a chuckle he stopped her, "Relax Aim, if I promise not to call the doctor, will you promise to take it easy?"

"If you let me take half-an-hour tomorrow to see what Ben wants as well," Amy bartered, reminding herself very much of Sadie.

"Aim…"

"Fifteen minutes then. You can come along to play time Nazis too if you'd like," she tempted, her random passage of sorrow and confusion long passed.

"As tempting as that _does _sound, I'm going back to practicing tomorrow, so I can't. I'll trust that you'll return home if you start to feel worse," Tala said, giving in to Amy's request.

Amy kissed him passionately on the lips and then sank into his arms, whispering, "This is why I love you so much."

"Only this?"

"I'm joking, there are many reasons why I love you. That one is the reason why I love you right now." Amy smiled, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

Tala smirked at her, kissing her. He tried to be gentle, but it was only for so long could the teen hold back. The lust had returned, and boy was it egging him on.

* * *

Amy felt somewhat better come morning of the next day, however the nausea she had often felt before had returned with a vengeance, and this time it didn't come in a single brief flash. It was the first time she had slept in longer than Tala, and she was grateful for it. She imagined, had he been home, he would of heard her retching into the toilet from the basement.

It was after that little episode, that she felt much better –for the time being- and moved to get dressed to meet with Ben.

_I don't think you should meet with him alone, warrior… something doesn't seem right,_ Hien warned, a deep growl in his voice.

_You're worrying too much, I'll be fine,_ Amy reassured, _if I truly am a warrior then I should be able to handle whatever my co-worker has dubbed as an emergency._

_Only if you're sure, I can't help you this time._

_Help me? Why?_

_Like the fort… barriers._

_Don't worry! I'll be fine, you'll see,_ Amy stated, flipping out her cell and calling Ben.

* * *

"I'm glad you're feeling better Aim," Ben grinned as he unlocked the front door and let her into the school, "I really am."

"Yeah well, I wanted to come yesterday and all but-

"Don't worry, about it, you're here now right?" Ben said, still smiling.

"That's good to hear," Amy said, following him down the main hall, "so… what happened?"

"What?"

"You said it was an emergency… so what happened?"

"Oh, I handled that myself," Ben explained, his eyes darting slightly.

Amy caught that movement; the sudden uneasiness. Years of observing opponents taught her to catch things like that, he was lying, there never was an emergency. Her body tensed up, something was wrong.

"So I guess, since you handled the emergency I'll just go home," Amy said, backing up towards the door.

"Oh, what's your rush Aim?" Ben said, his face slipping into a look that was almost predatory.

"I have a boyfriend," she reminded, as if it would do any good.

"Who doesn't deserve you," growled Ben, advancing on her.

Amy knew for a fact that if she tried to fight Ben, she would fail miserably, especially since she had to worry about not only her life. She didn't exactly want to come to terms with it, but given the situation she could not help but think of _it_.

"Ben don't do this," she pleaded, "what about Tatiana?"

"Oh Amy, so out of it," Ben chuckled a little too darkly for her liking, "I broke up with her weeks ago."

"Why? You two were so-

"She wasn't you. I have had my eye on you for some time now." Ben paused, liking his chops, "Now, be a good girl, and don't squirm… too much."

If ever there was a time Amy wished her brother was in the country it was now, but he wasn't so all she could do was endure her crazed co-workers disgusting ideas of pleasure. She didn't do so quietly, however, she did squirm. She did end up fighting, now matter how pointless it was in the end, and she tried her best to raise an alarm- but that was kind of hard to do when your mouth was smothered.

_Please… help… someone,_ she begged in silence, having not felt this helpless since she had been at the fort, however at the fort she could at least fight back without fear for another. Being pinned to wall in the main hallway had its advantages, for she could see the glass of the front doors, which meant there was probably a good chance that people walking by could see her too.

With this knowledge she fought harder, hoping someone would notice and would understand that it was a sign of help. However, no one stopped to look into the dark halls of the bey-shooting academy; no one stopped to look on the teenaged girl struggling to escape the grasp of her co-worker.

"Enjoy it while you can," she hissed with malice as soon as his lips left hers, "I'll see you arrested for this."

"Tsk, tsk Amy," Ben smirked savagely, "don't talk that way. You can't honestly make me believe that that _bey-shooter_ satisfies you? You're here all day, surely you must feel something more for a man like me?"

"Perhaps I would, were you a man. But you're not, you, Ben, are a rat." If looks could kill, Amy would swear that the look she was giving him would cause her assaulter to drop dead- for he had backed up a little when she had shot it at him.

"Feisty huh? I never thought you would be." Just as quickly as he had recoiled, the smirk returned and he was all over her once more.

She growled in the back of her throat and made a note of biting his lip, hard. She pleased herself when he recoiled, cursing and wiping blood from his now bleeding lower lip. "How's that for feisty?" she mocked, trying to free herself once more.

Ben scowled at her, his blood staining his teeth pink as he bared his teeth. "Oh, I really am going to enjoy _this_ now."

Just as he was leaning in once more, the front doors opened with a slam that caused both Amy and Ben to jump. However, in the long run, it was Ben who paled at the person who had interrupted his… fun.

"Tala," Amy breathed in relief, but to her boyfriend, it sounded more like surprise and fear- like he had just caught her doing something wrong.

Ben backed off Amy, clearly intimidated by the older boy, and rushed to his escape before anything could happen.

'_Thank God,_' Amy thought, exhaling slightly; her relief was short-lived, for as soon as her grey eyes met his sapphire blue ones, she knew something was wrong.

"Tala?"

"I knew it," was all he said, and it came out roughly, in snarling way. "I knew it!"

* * *

blackamber- GASP! Another cliffie!! (well kinda)

Amy- why do you keep trying to mess up our relationship?

blackamber- I don't do it on purpose… it kinda just happens…

Amy- I hate you…

Sadie- Yeah! How could you do this now, of all times!?

Amy- what does now have to do with anything?

Sadie- Well… because… well given what's happened and (coughs awkwardly)

blackamber- you guys read the quotes, you knew what was going to happen

Sadie- yeah but we didn't know it was going to happen so soon

blackamber- well it did say, for that one quote, in a not to distant chapter (or something like that)

Tala- well R&R


	6. Break

blackamber- How many times must I say I'm sorry before I'm forgiven?

Sadie- How about a gazillion?

blackamber- Let's try a real number…

Sadie- What? A gazillion is a real number

blackamber- ummm... no it isn't

Sadie- Yes it is...

blackamber- Well, I can see where this conversation is going.

Amy- So, what's your lame excuse as to why this chapter is late this time?

blackamber- I was packing

Sadie- For what?

blackamber- (tear tear) I am moving to the East Coast.

Amy- Don't you mean your family is moving?

blackamber- Nope just me. My school is on the east coast, so my family is staying here :D

Sadie- Your in University!?

blackamber- yeah…

Sadie- YOU'RE SO OLD!!

blackamber- (pouting) You sound like me cousins…

Amy- usual disclaimer

* * *

"_I knew it, I just _knew_ it!" Tala snarled, not even looking at the stunned, and slightly confused Amy._

"_You mind filling me in here?" the confused part of her asked, for her rational part had already figured out what he was ranting about- even though it did not want to believe it._

"_Don't play dumb with me Amy," he said her name so maliciously, that she found herself cringing as he spoke._

"_It's not like that," she tried to reason._

"_Oh really?" he asked in disbelief, "do explain what I missed."_

"_The fact that I was trying to get away," she stated matter-of-factly._

_Tala snorted, "If you had wanted to get away Amy, you would have. I know how strong you are and I've seen you beat him in almost anything to do with strength."_

"_I haven't been myself lately, you know that… I-_

"_Yeah, I know how tired you are when you come home, but maybe that's just the aftershock of your apparent daily activities."_

_Amy's mouth dropped open in shock at his words, for he, technically, had just called her a whore. "Excuse me?"_

_Tala smirked, not really finding a reason to respond. _

"_You heartless bastard!" Amy shrieked at him, she would have said more, but found herself wincing from stomach pains. The horribly named 'morning sickness' seemed to be coming back, she only hoped she could keep it down long enough,_

"_Though, I guess if you actually talk to me I might not jump to conclusions on things, maybe give you the benefit of the doubt," every word was drenched with sarcasm, "but of course, you've always had your secrets."_

"_I've told you everything I could about me, what more do you want?" Amy demanded, glaring daggers._

"_I want the truth."_

"_I just told you it!"_

"_All of it!"_

_Amy paused, swallowing heavily. "I," she paused again, "I can't."_

"_Why not?"_

"_Because I don't know all of it yet either!"_

'_Liar,' screeched her inner voice, 'you know it perfectly well.'_

_Tala let out a groan of frustration, fighting the urge to grab her by the shoulders and shake her. "How could you not know?" he tried to ask calmly._

"_It's complicated." Amy's face had gone white as she snaked shaky fingers through her dark locks, "It's very complicated."_

"_You know… sometimes I wonder if you even trust me," Tala spoke earnestly, staring directly into her eyes._

_Amy wanted to laugh at the irony. "__Sometimes you wonder if _I_trust _you_? You accuse me of cheating and then you wonder if I trust you?"__ Amy sighed irritably and then began to pace on the spot. She struggled with accepting what Tala had said; part of her had found it quite amusing on some sick level. It dawned on her then what needed to be done, and the thought was painful. They had, after all, been together for two years. _

_She let out another sigh before speaking again. "__You know... maybe..." Amy paused, her voice cracking like one who was about to break down and cry, "maybe we should just... take a break..."_

"_What?" Tala had heard her perfectly well, just the idea was unsettling with him. Taking a break? They couldn't. _

"_We should take a break," Amy repeated, "look at us, we're tearing each other's throats out for no reason… we need some time apart… to really thinks things over and decide what's for the best." Now of all times, Amy could not let the mask she had worked so hard to perfect fall, she had to stay strong, and yet her thoughts kept traveling back to that tiny, nagging detail below her stomach. The tiny, nagging, slowly growing detail which would make her time alone a lot harder than his. _

"_We don't need a break," said Tala, almost desperately, "we just need to… sort this out."_

_Amy shook her head, still fighting the tears that were threatening to fall. "No Tala, we need a break."_

"_Well, where would you go? If we need to be alone we can't exactly be in the same house," Tala said smugly, thinking he had her cornered, unable to escape-unable to break._

"_Maybe to Japan… stay with Kai for a bit-_

_Tala paled at the idea. If Kai just so happened to ask what she was doing there… he'd be dead and buried in less than a month._

"_Or… maybe I'll go back to Canada, stay with Derek and Norah… and forget all this," Amy mumbled the last part, but she knew Tala heard._

"_We can… we can forget this ever happened, just… I… I don't think-_

"_I'm not talking about today, Tala," she spat, another sudden mood swing catching both off guard._

"_Fine," he said stiffly, "fine… if you ever start feeling like your old self, you know my number." _

* * *

Amy leaned back in her chair, trying to will away the conversation that had taken place only a couple of hours ago. Not even her fear of flying could dull the voices in her head. Not even the roar of the plane's engines, nor Sadie's annoying humming along with her music. Nothing.

Well, that wasn't completely true- there was _one_ thing. She grazed her stomach lightly with her hand, staring at it and trying not to let another mood swing send her into a mad depression of loud messy tears.

'_I wonder what you are…'_ she thought in wonderment at the idea of a little… thing growing inside her, '_no, calling you a what doesn't seem right… I wonder…. who you are.'_

When she had called Derek she hadn't told him of her condition- well she might have had she actually gotten to talk to Derek for more than three seconds. As soon as Derek had greeted her, by saying her name, the phone had been snatched away first by Norah, who talked to her for a good twenty minutes, then by Claire, who must have talked for at least an hour. Not that Amy minded, she liked hearing about Keith, her kind-of-but-not-really nephew, and Claire's husband, Matthew.

Ironic isn't it? (A/N: Cookies for whoever guesses/remembers why it's ironic)

Amy was grateful to Claire though, for talking to the older girl made her a little less uneasy about what she was about to go through. 'He_ might not be here with us… but at least I've got a family to stand by me.'_

It was funny how whenever Amy thought of a family, it was always the Carters, Claire, and her team-mates who came to mind… well, Kai was slowly fading into view as a family member and Tala was… she wasn't so sure about him now- even though a good portion of her family was all over the world, at least _she_ wouldn't be alone.

She stole a quick glance over to her now snoring apprentice. '_Guess I'm going to have to add you into my family as well._' As if acting as a reminder, a small wave of nausea washed over her, not enough to make her retch, but enough to make her cringe and laugh in her head, '_You are a given, I shouldn't have to force myself to think of you as family._'

* * *

"AMY!!" A loud, excited screech made the young woman cringe before she was absorbed into a tight hug from an older blond doctor.

"Hi, Claire," Amy gasped, letting the last of her oxygen escape her lungs.

Claire stepped back, taking in the younger girl. "You've actually got a stomach… I don't know whether to be worried about this are happy to know that you are actually human."

Amy rolled her eyes before nodding to the man standing not so far behind the blond. "Matthew, it's good to see you again."

The tall, brunette of medium build, nodded back, shifting a tiny baby into one of his arms as he raised a hand in better greeting. "Likewise… you look like Claire did in her early stages." The man smiled knowingly at her and stole a wink.

It was then that Amy remembered that this man worked in the hospital ward that dealt with pregnant women; of course he'd recognize the first trimester.

Claire looked back at her husband in confusion… then her eyes widened in shock… then she turned back to Amy with her hands on her hips. "Amelia Hiwatari," she said sternly, "what have you done?"

Amy flushed a deep crimson, but didn't answer.

The stern look quickly faded though, replaced by one of sheer joy. "I'm going to be an AUNT!!" Claire cheered, hugging Amy tightly once more.

"Claire… can't… breathe…" Amy gasped.

"That can't be good for the baby," Matthew muttered.

"What baby?" a small voice asked, coming up from behind Amy.

"Oh," Claire released Amy from her crusher hold, "and who's this?"

"This is Sadie," Amy introduced, once she had caught her breath.

"I'm Amy's apprentice," Sadie beamed proudly.

"I thought you gave up bey shooting?"

"I was suckered into this," admitted Amy. Her eyes fell once more on the tiny baby in Matthew's arms, "So this must be Keith?"

It was Claire's turn to beam now, "Yup, that's my baby."

The tiny boy had a light blond tuft of hair on the top of his head and baby blue eyes. He giggled and squirmed in his father's arms as his mother drew closer, motioning to gather him up in _her_ arms.

"You are going to have to get used to holding one of these," Claire said, kissing her son on the top of his head. Slowly, she offered the tiny boy to her younger friend, "So, here's the trial run."

"Wh-what!?' Amy stumbled backwards.

"Take him," Claire ordered.

"B-but-

"Learn to hold one properly now, so that way you don't panic nine months from now," Claire insisted.

"From the look of her, I'd say it's five or six now," Matthew mused, clearly enjoying this.

Sadie squealed in a more annoying way than Mel, which Amy thought was impossible, "You're pregnant!?"

"Tell the world why don't you," Amy grumbled, finally taking Keith from his mother.

"Oh… but you and Tala broke up… was this why?"

"You guys broke up?" Claire asked, clearly concerned.

"No, we're just taking a break. And no, this is not the reason why… well, not entirely… He doesn't know I'm-

"Pregnant?" Sadie finished excitedly.

"Yeah… that…"

"How'd it happen?"

"I'd rather not talk about this right now," Amy sighed painfully, quickly handing Claire her son back.

"Well," Claire said in a sunny voice, "it's a good thing I called your two best friends, who are calling your other two best friends, and are coming tomorrow to keep you company."

Amy smiled lightly at the thought of seeing Brook, Courtney, Melissa, and Kaylie again. With Nicol staying in Russia, she really needed one of them- preferably Brook or Courtney- to talk to. "Thanks Claire."

* * *

Blackamber- YAY! Brook, Courtney, Mel, and Kaylie are coming back!!

Sadie- WOOO! Even though I've never met them…

Blackamber- BRYAN!

Bryan- (sighs) blackamber has some questions for you all in reference to Amy's… condition –ahem-

**Question 1:**

Should Amy have one kid or twins?

**Question 2:**

If one, should it be a boy or girl?

**Question 3:**

If twins should it be two boys, two girls, or one of each?

**Question 4:**

If a girl, should the child's name be: Thea (pronounced like Athena but without the first A and N), Tear, Rose, or Cali?

If a boy, should the child's name be: Dimitri, Dylan, Gale, or Jacob?

Tala: R&R

blackamber- and answer please


	7. Return of the Teammates

blackamber- sorry this took so long, had to move in and choose my courses

Sadie- so what are you taking?

Amy- Suck up

Sadie- angry pregnant person

blackamber- people! this is me time. I'm taking Global History, Latin, Irish Gaelic, Instrumental Music, Vocal Music, and Anthropology

Sadie- sounds cool... so shall we get on with the chapter

blackamber- yes, let's

Amy- Usual disclaimer

* * *

Returning to the farm house/mansion that belonged to the Carters was a lot more enjoyable than Amy initially thought. As soon as she walked through the door, she was met with a warm hug from Norah, then- noticing the girl's condition- a harsh scolding, followed by warm words of encouragement, then scolding again. The cycle continued until little Emma decided it was her turn for attention, and demanded it from the older girl in question.

As Amy's attention went to the tiny two year old, Norah's moved to Sadie, asking her about where she was from, how she met Amy, the works. Of course from Derek, the doctor, there came the unavoidable question that Claire refused to answer.

"Amy, where's Tala?"

"We're taking a break," Amy stated almost coldly.

"How long of a break?" Derek asked warily.

Amy shrugged, "Whenever I feel I've had enough time to think things over."

"Before the baby's born?"

Once more, Amy shrugged.

"Before the baby's born," Derek insisted, "this is not something you should tackle on your own."

"I can take care of myself Derek," Amy growled.

"And that's why you're back here?"

Amy fell silent, in her mind the mood swing was shooting thousands of insults his way, but she held her tongue.

"Well," Norah clapped her hands together, "let's get you settled then."

It felt good to be lying in her old bed, alone. Well, semi-alone. She was alone from ten o'clock last night till seven o'clock the morning after. But now, now she sat cross-legged with her best friend sitting across from her chatting.

"So, when does Courtney get in?" Amy asked, knowing that Melissa and Kaylie were upstairs with Norah, Sadie, Derek, and Emma. It was strange how Courtney lived just beyond the border between Canada and the US, and yet it took her forever to get over.

Although most of the old team was at the house already, Brook was the only one who'd enter Amy's room without invitation; their close friendship was invitation enough.

"Sometime after ten," Brook responded, "it feels like it's been forever since we were all together, doesn't it?"

"You got that right," Amy smiled, leaning back against her head board.

"You thought of names?"

"Names?"

"For the baby."

"Not really," admitted Amy, grazing her hand across her stomach as she often did when someone reminded her that the bulge in her stomach was a living thing.

Brook chuckled, excited for her friend yet a little alarmed at how quickly it she had let it happen. "When I walked through the door, your little apprentice was off like a rocket. She said 'I know you! You're Brook Kon. Oh my God this is soooo cool! Did you know Amy's spawning a child? I mean you are her best friend and-

"Wait… she said I'm 'spawning' a child?" Amy asked.

"Yeah."

"I'd rather not think of it that way," mumbled Amy, "it makes it sound so… gross."

Brook broke down in laughter again, "Yeah it does, doesn't it?" She looked up at the ceiling, where the sound of chairs scraping against the hardwood floor of the kitchen rained down. "So, why didn't you tell me?"

"Same reason I didn't tell Tala." Brook hadn't been down there long, but long enough to be the first person to hear the whole story of what happened that lead to the break. And I say whole story, I mean whole story; every word of their conversations, every event, and the beginning hint towards the pregnancy.

"So, when are you going to tell him?"

"Eventually."

"Amy."

"I… I-

The door to her basement bedroom burst open, revealing the happy-go-lucky blond, three hours early. "AMY!" the blond cheered.

"Courtney, how's it going?" Amy greeted with a smile.

"Good, good. Where's Tala?" Courtney asked, a completely fake smile on her face, "I want to shake his hand then kick his ass!"

Amy sighed deeply, "Umm… please don't, I kinda need him alive."

"So you are going to tell him?" Brook asked, grinning.

"Eventually," Amy repeated, smugly.

* * *

"Wow, I can't tell who's more depressed, you or the dog," Bryan joked, looking between the young, sad eyed dog with his head resting on his paws and the clearly depressed red head.

"What'd you do anyways?" Ian asked, leaning back in the couch.

"What makes you think _I_ did anything?" Tala snapped back.

"W-well, nothing b-but," Ian faltered under Tala's death glare.

"Whatever happened, you'd better hope it gets resolved soon. Kai's coming back to town," Bryan stated.

Had Tala been drinking anything at that moment, he probably would've either spat it out or begin choking on it as he sputtered the word, "What?"

Bryan nodded, "Yup, there was a message from him for Amy saved on the machine… you should probably screen those once in a while, it was a pretty old message."

"How old?"

"A week at most."

"Did he say when he was coming?"

"Next weekend."

Tala swore under his breath trying to think of what to do.

"You could always apologize and beg her to come back," Bryan suggested, even though he knew the response.

"I'm not going to beg her to come back."

"Then what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to lie to Kai. I'll tell him she wanted to visit the Carters and Claire."

"What if he calls her cell?"

"Then I'll run like hell."

Spencer, who had been quiet most of this time, looked up at the team's leader. "You mentioned earlier that she's been acting strange for some time now, right?"

Tala looked uninterested, "Your point?"

"You ever think that she might be… given that you guys have… I mean." It was obvious this was awkward for Spencer to suggest, not only that but it was also dangerous waters to tread in.

"That she might be what?"

Spencer didn't respond, clearly not enjoying the topic of his thoughts.

"Oh," Bryan said, understanding exactly what Spencer was getting at, "he wants to know if you guys have done 'it'."

"If we've what!?" Tala bellowed.

"Don't get me wrong, Tala, it's not for personal interest. It's just… well… assuming that you two have, it's quite possible that she could be-

"No."

"How can you be sure?"

"She would've told me."

"Maybe she didn't-

"She would've _told_ me."

* * *

"EASY!" Amy barked from her spot on a beach chair that Norah made her sit on. "Go slower, relax. Bey-shooting isn't about who can tear their ripcord out of their shooter the hardest, it's about the strategy of the shooter, and the strength and bond of the blade."

Sadie sighed irritably from her position across from Courtney who was her sparing partner.

"She's right you know," Courtney grinned, giving the younger girl a small wink.

"She doesn't have to yell," the younger girl grumbled under her breath.

"Oh, come on kid, she's a pregnant woman confined to a chair, she needs her fun," Courtney joked, earning a death glare from said pregnant woman.

Brook sat with her trying to sooth the prone to anger woman. "She's just teasing you, you know that," she cooed.

"Yeah, yeah… I know," seethed Amy, "by the way… how are you and what's his name?"

"Rin? We're good," Brook beamed, sighing in a daydreaming sort of way, "he wanted to come with me but I told him he didn't need to."

"I'm glad," Amy murmured, finding herself thinking of Tala. _No… I'm not calling him… not yet._

_Why are you so stubborn warrior?_ Hien's wise voice asked.

_I'm just… not ready._

_Really? Are you scared of his reaction? _

_No… It's just… he called me a-_

_Frankly, you gave him a good reason too. Sneaking around behind his back and not telling hi-_

_I DIDN'T KNOW!_

_No, you did know. You just denied knowing. You cannot, honestly, play dumb for three months Amy._

Amy didn't respond to the wolf's jibe. And when she was about to, something stopped her. A hard pound against her stomach stopped her. She stared down at the- somewhat- offending thing with amazement.

"Amy… is something wrong?" Brook asked, noticing Amy's expression.

"I think," Amy paused, "I think the baby just kicked."

Like a hurricane raging across the nation, Courtney rushed to Amy's side. "Let me feel!"

"Hey!" Amy snarled as her former team-mates but still best friends crowded around her.

"That's sooo cute," Melissa cooed, "I wish I was having a baby."

"No you don't," Amy winced, not understanding how such a small thing could cause so much pain.

"I'm sure your brother would be so proud," Kaylie assured.

At those words, Amy paled. Kai… she had forgotten all about him. He was going to kill her.

* * *

Bryan- blackamber wanted me to announce this, so far we have a tie between Cali and Thea for girl names, though of course this verdict doesn't need to be reached until much later.

blackamber- Uh-huh

Tala- please R&R before Kai comes and kills me


	8. A Phone Call Away

blackamber41- WAAAA SOOOO SORRY!! SO MUCH WORK!! SO MUCH READING!! SO MUCH STRESSSS!!

Bryan- AHH! PAINFUL!!

blackamber41- YOU!! (points)

Bryan- ( look that says, 'the hell?') What?

blackamber41- I have an announcement for you (pulls out paper from a file that says 'We Will Fall Together Announcements')

Bryan- "blackamber41 would like to thank everyone for their votes, but would also like them to keep voting since now there is a tie between the names Dimitri and Dylan."

blackamber41- it's very important (nods head)

Amy- Usual disclaimer

blackamber41- PS. I really like the first sentence :D

* * *

_I _hate _being pregnant,_ Amy thought darkly as the tiny… thing inside her kicked against her stomach once more, _I hate it, I hate it, I HATE IT!!_

"Aim… You alright?" Brook asked noticing the dark scowl that had just appeared on Amy's face.

Amy didn't quite respond, just growled incoherently under breath.

"Don't worry, dearie, you'll get used to it in time. Besides, it's only for four more months," Norah smiled reassuringly at her.

"I still think it's adorable," Melissa grinned, hugging Emma.

"Adowable," Emma echoed, giggling brightly.

"Yes, that's right," Norah cooed, "just like you." The older woman moved over to her daughter, lifting the tiny girl out of Mel's arms.

"You won't think it's so adorable when you look like you swallowed a whole watermelon and your stomach is constantly being assaulted by a miniature Jackie Chan wanna-be," Amy snapped.

"Don't take it personally," Claire comforted, "it's just the mood swings."

"Amy, may I speak with you?" Derek asked.

"Which, in Doctor lingo, actually means it's check-up time," Amy grumbled, stalking over to the thirty-seven year old doctor. "What's up?"

"I've been thinking-

"That's never good, coming from you I mean."

"I think it's about time… they knew."

"They?" Amy questioned.

"Tala… and your brother."

"Oh no," Amy shook her head, "letting Tala know is one thing but Kai? He'd murder Tala then come after me!"

"He is your family, Amy, he should know, and so should Tala," Derek said seriously.

"I know… I'll tell him… not now… but I will," Amy said, her gaze cast downward. "You have to promise me _you_ won't call him."

"Amy, he has a right to know, he is the-

"I know! But I can't…" Amy paused, tears brimming her eyes, "I can't deal with him right now."

"I want you to call him… before the end of this month," Derek warned, "if you don't, I will."

"I understand," Amy sighed, trembling slightly. She didn't know why she was so scared of telling Tala. Technically, the whole thing should be considered a blessing, after all it explained her strange behavior; and yet, she was terrified. She turned away from Derek, walking towards her room that was moved upstairs with Norah's fear that the stairs to the basement would become too difficult for her as time wore on.

She gently grazed her fingers across her stomach at the exact moment the baby kicked, she smile slightly, her previous anger completely forgotten. "Hey, little one," she said, calmly. Amy had gotten into the habit of talking to the child when she was alone, "Looks like things are getting a little hectic out here. I really wish I _could_ talk to your da… your father, but I can't. I'm not brave enough to."

She had stopped herself from calling Tala the baby's daddy, it was just too weird to say it out loud, even if she was alone. She sighed heavily, "What am I going to do…?"

* * *

"So, she went to Canada to visit Claire by herself?" Kai asked, finding the news somewhat strange.

"Yeah, apparently all her old team-mates were going and I figured it was, sorta, a girl thing so I told her to go and have fun," Tala explained, lying through his teeth.

"I tried to call her cell, she doesn't pick up," Kai noted.

Tala shrugged, he had noticed that too. He had _tried_ to get in touch with her, but all he got was her voice-mail, and there was no way in hell he was calling the Carters house where it was quite possible to reach anyone _but_ the desired person. In fact, Tala wouldn't be surprised if the Silver Fang team _was _at the Carters' farmhouse-mansion.

"She may be busy working with her apprentice, she followed Amy to Canada," Tala suggested, mostly trying to tell himself that that was the reason and not that she was purposely avoiding his calls.

"Apprentice?"

"Yeah, this little kid named Sadie convinced her to teach her to Beyblade properly."

Kai snorted, he could not picture Amy working with a little kid for any reason.

"Now, is there an actual reason as to why you came here?" Tala questioned, praying to God that there wasn't any serious reason.

"My original plan was just to check up on my sister, mostly because my father has been asking about her," Kai growled.

Now that was surprising news. They all knew Kai's father was _very_ interested in his son's future as a bey-shooter, but never gave so much as a rat's ass for Amy's wellbeing.

"I told him what happened to her after she left the abbey and he actually felt bad about it; felt it was kinda his fault that it happened. So, I figured I'd come and check up on her, convince her to at least talk to our father, whether it be over the phone or whatever, just to put his mind at ease a little." Kai chuckled slightly, "He really is a pathetic man, doesn't even have the gull to try and contact her himself."

"Would she even speak to him if he did?" Tala questioned, briefly forgetting that he and Amy weren't exactly on speaking terms at the moment.

"Point taken," Kai smirked, "you would know her best, huh?"

Those words stung Tala, forcing him to once more remember why Amy was really in Canada. "Yeah, I would," he said, forcing a laugh.

Unfortunately, Kai caught on to the fact that the laugh was fake and narrowed his eyes at Tala, "What's really going on here?"

"Nothing, why would you think that?" Tala asked, pasting a fake smile on his lips.

"Tala," Kai growled, "where is my sister." His expression was dangerous and Tala knew he had to choose his words carefully, for not answering was just as dangerous as telling the whole truth.

"Well, Amy is really in Canada, I can tell you that much," sighed Tala, praying not to be killed.

"Why?"

"Uh… I said some things I shouldn't have said to her… " Tala run an uneasy hand through his hair, hoping Kai wouldn't question him further, like asking what he had said.

"Oh really?" Kai asked snarkily, "like what?"

'_Damn,_' Tala thought, trying to calm his thoughts. "Just… some things, it's not important."

"Would Amy say the same thing?" Kai asked, his gaze darkening, "what the hell did you say to her!?"

"I-

Tala was saved from this interrogation by the ringing of his cell phone; he privately thanked God for it. He was very surprised to see Amy's name on the caller display. "Hello?"

There was a pause before a question came in unmistakably Amy's voice, "Tala?"

"Oh, thank God! Amy I was worried about you," Tala sighed in relief, hoping that those words would console Kai's anger as well as help Amy forgive him.

"I'm fine," her voice was very detached, "is something wrong?"

"No… nothing… uh, Kai's here," Tala said into the phone.

"Oh?" Amy's voice hitched at the mention of her brother's name. _Well, so much for telling Tala… I can't say it when _he's_ there._

Tala noted on the way her voice caught and related it to fear. "You want to talk to him?" He asked this although he knew how she really felt, she didn't want to talk. Hell, she didn't even sound like she wanted to talk to him. He privately berated himself for saying that, for now he put her in the position where she couldn't refuse.

"Yeah… sure," Amy said indifferently.

Tala slowly handed Kai the phone, watching as Kai's expression turned to one of a psychotic murderer to that of an overprotective brother.

"Hey, Aim. Is everything alright?"

"Yeah… fine," Amy said, beginning to feel the sudden mood swing taking hold. She knew, if she didn't act fast, she was either going to break down crying or screaming her head off. At which point, both boys on the other end would know everything was not 'fine'.

"Look," Kai paused, "I've been in contact with father."

"Oh really?" she could feel the emotion of annoyance catching in her voice. _Please don't start yelling, please don't start screaming_, she chanted to herself.

"Yeah, he, uh, really feels bad about what happened to you," Kai explained, "I think you should call him?"

"Why? So he can tell me how much of a burden I was!?' Amy snapped before she could stop herself. She winced immediately afterwards, and it was not because the baby had kicked again.

"Aim?" Kai said questioningly, looking towards the phone in confusion.

"Sorry… it's just years without even knowing him… kinda makes it hard to accept that he really cares about me," Amy said, trying with all her might to keep her emotions in check.

"At least consider it," Kai said gently. "I have another question for you."

"Alright, shoot?" Amy said, taking deep soothing breaths slightly away from her cell.

"What's up with you and Tala?" Kai demanded.

Tala paled at Kai's question.

Amy choked on the breath she was taking in. "Wh-why would you think anything was up?"

"Tala told me he said something to you before you left for Canada, what did he say?"

"It's nothing for you to worry about, Kai. We just had a little fight that's all. If you want to know the truth, I just used the fight as an excuse to come over here and see Claire and the Carters; it's no big deal. I'll be back in Russia in no time," Amy explained, lying slightly. "And since when were you so concerned about Tala and mine's love life?"

"I'm not, I just want to make sure you were okay," Kai grumbled.

"That's sweet Kai, but I'm fine," Amy actually smiled as she said this, "now will you please stop harassing my boyfriend?"

"Fine, you win," he sighed, handing the phone back to Tala.

"Aim?"

"It's alright, I didn't give any details. I just said we had a small fight and that I would be back soon," Amy explained, feeling knots in her stomach. "I miss you… you know."

"Yeah," Tala half smiled, "I miss you too. And I'm… I'm really sorry about what happened and all… I-

"It's alright," Amy said. "I'm not coming home yet, but soon, okay?"

"Alright," responded Tala, somewhat disappointed, "I'll see you then."

* * *

"I love you." Without waiting for a reply, Amy hung up, flopped back onto her bed, and began to cry. _I'm so sorry Tala. _

_Without you,_

_The ground thaws_

_The rain falls_

_The grass grows._

_Without you,_

_The seeds root_

_The flowers bloom_

_The children play._

_The stars gleam_

_The poets dream_

_The eagles fly_

_Without you_

_The earth turns _

_The sun burns_

_But I die,_

_Without you._

Amy hugged herself, trying to ignore, for once the annoying kicking of her baby and the happy laughter of her friends down the hall. She ignored the barking of Blue and Tolle as the chased one another around the house, or the ear-piercing, screaming laugh of Emma as either her mother or father picked her up to fawn over her. _That's going to be us_, she couldn't help but think, bringing more tears to her eyes.

_Without you,_

_The breeze warms_

_The girl smiles_

_The cloud moves_

_Without you_

_The tides change_

_The boys run_

_The oceans crash_

_The crowds roar_

_The days soar_

_The babies cry_

_Without you_

_The moon glows_

_The river flows_

_But I die_

_Without you._

Why, why did she have to call him? It only made her want to be with him all the more. Why!?

_The world revives_

_Colors color renews_

_But I know blue_

_Only blue_

_Lonely blue_

_Within me blue._

_Without you._

_Without you_

_The hand gropes_

_The ear hears_

_The pulse beats_

_Without you_

_The eyes gaze _

_The legs walk_

_The lungs breathe_

_The mind churns_

_The heart yearns_

_The tears dry_

_Without you_

_Life goes on_

_But I'm gone_

'_cause I die_

_Without you._

She quickly whipped the tears from her eyes as Sadie called to her, saying that her and Mel's practice session was about to start and that she _promised_ to watch, as her teacher and all. Tentatively, she rose from her bed, exited her room, and made a quick stop in the washroom to wash her tear stained cheeks.

* * *

"Hey, Aim?" Mel stated, stealing a quick glance over at said person in the middle of her match.

"What is it Mel?" Amy asked, as normally as possible.

"You know… I have suddenly have the dark desire to call Kai." Mel beamed at her older friend.

"Uh, why?" Amy asked, remembering her own conversation with her brother not moments ago. She was interested, of course, as to what Mel could possibly need to talk to Kai about.

"'Cause I know he'll flip when he finds out what-"

"Mel," Amy interrupted, "you are officially banned from any contact with a phone."

"I was joking!" Melissa exclaimed.

"I'm not," Amy stated, turning her attention back to the match. She would keep this a secret from Kai for as long as she could, and with luck, that would be a good few years… or till she dies- she is praying for the latter.

* * *

blackamber41- This isn't a bad chapter... I had a few laughs

Bryan- you forgot to disclaim the song

blackamber41- THAT'S RIGHT! BRYAN!!

Bryan- Why do you keep doing that when I'm right beside you?

blackamber41- 'Cause it's fun :D

Bryan- (sigh) blackamber also does not own the song Without You, it was originally by John Larson (anyone who knows RENT should know it)

Tala- R&R


	9. Taking Matters Into Their Own Hands

blackamber- I know this is shorter than usual, but at least I updated, right?

Sadie- she has a point.

Bryan- once again, blackamber would like to thank everyone who voted on names and genders for the baby(babies). She also would like you, if you are interested, to check out her AMV of beyblade on youtube. It is on the account of thebadmanpuntedhim, called Brothers in Arms.

Courtney- Usual disclaimer

blackamber- ps. some of you may be like finally at the end of this chapter

* * *

Amy leaned against Indy's shoulder, stroking his neck; circling her fingers in a soothing motion. "Hey boy-oh, haven't see you in so long. I'm sorry I've been neglecting you," she whispered. The horses' black ears flicked back to her as she spoke and he gave a small whicker. Turning his large head, he butted her side playfully.

"Hey, careful," she laughed, hugging his heads. "Why are men so difficult, huh?"

Indy gave a snort that sounded almost like he was insulted.

"Well, I don't mean you of course," she teased tussling his mane.

The gelding butted her again, this time in a gentler fashion.

"Oh no," Norb's voice came from the entrance to the stall. "You are _not_ riding!"

Amy rolled her eyes at the older man, "I wasn't planning to. I know the risks of it, Derek made sure of that."

"Just thought I'd make sure," the old man smiled, "he's missed you dearly."

"I've missed him to. There is no one in this world who knows me better than he does. He can read my emotions before I can even register them. And he is really good to vent to," she spoke, her voice calm as she continued to stroke the horse. "Do you think it would be hard to bring him to Russia?"

"So you are planning to go back?"

"Eventually."

"I don't think it'd be hard to get him there, but it may be hard for him to adjust to the climate change. But I have a feeling he'd just be happy to be with you."

Amy grinned and then turned to her 16 hand high companion, "What do you think, Indy? You want to come home with me?"

Indy whinnied and tossed his head, as though nodding.

Amy laughed and gave his neck a satisfied pat. "Well, that settles it." Dusting her hands off she exited her horses' stall, "I'll se you later boy, I fear if I stay out her much longer, Norah will come chase me back inside with a broom in hand."

"She does seem quite determined to keep you as bored as you possibly can be," the old man teased, "my wife was the same way with our daughter, fearing that anything bad would because she was so young."

Amy laughed; she could certainly see the elderly woman doing something like that. She had met Norb's wife a few times when she came to scold him about something at work or to watch her 'cowboy' husband. "Give my regards to your wife when you see her."

The old man nodded and waved her off with a friendly smile.

* * *

"I don't think Amy's going to tell him," Melissa said while sitting with Kaylie, Courtney and Sadie in the TV room.

"She will, but chances are it will be after the kid's born and she panics," Courtney said.

"Maybe… we should call him," Sadie suggested, "tell him for her."

"I like how this girl thinks," grinned Courtney, slinging her arm around Sadie's shoulders and hugging her.

"You realize, if we do that, Amy will shoot us if she finds out," Kaylie warned.

"Keyword, 'if'," Courtney countered.

"So, how do we go about this?" Melissa asked, clearly interested.

"Next training session is for me and Courtney," Sadie stated, "being my master she has to monitor the training."

"Ah," Courtney smirked, catching on, "while we're training and she's watching, you two can call him."

"Right," Melissa and Kaylie nodded.

* * *

Tala launched Wolborg, watching the blade spin, completely in control as it sparred against Falborg. Since Amy's call, Tala had been more relieved. Yes she hadn't said when she was coming back, but she had said that she still loved him. That was good enough for him. It didn't exactly mean that she had forgiven him, but the words meant that she would in time.

"You're certainly fighting better," Spencer commented, earning a confused look from Kai.

"Finally made up with your girl, huh?" Bryan teased as their bit-beasts wrestled with one another.

Tala grinned at his friend, "Yeah, so what?"

"Nothing, it's just good to have you back," Bryan grinned.

Nicol, who was lying by Kai, rose into a sitting position and barked his agreement, as though he, himself, had heard the conversation on the phone.

"You know… that dog really creeps me out sometimes," commented Ian.

Nicol looked back at him with a low, dangerous sounding- but actually playful- growl; he even bared his fangs for effect.

Ian scooted a little further from the large husky, clearly intimidated.

Tala chuckled; he had heard that growl too many times to know that it was not really threatening. As he turned his attention back to the battle, he was surprised to hear his cell go off. Under normal circumstances, Tala would ignore it and just check his voice mail later. However, seeing as Tala was on somewhat bad terms with his girlfriend, he found himself drawing his cellphone out faster than on old western gunslinger.

Not even checking the caller ID he flipped the phone on and hastily said, "Hello?"

There was a pause on the other line, though he could make out some kind of arguing. He held his breath, praying that it was Amy.

He was greatly disappointed though when it was the girl he remembered as Tyson's younger sister who greeted him. "Uh, hi Tala."

He sighed deeply, knowing it wasn't anything urgent to do with Amy, after all, if it were, Dr. Carters would have called instead. "Do you have an actual purpose for calling me?"

"Believe it or not, we do," Melissa responded.

Tala imagined that by we, she meant the twin of the 'Chief,' whom she always hung out with. "Well?"

"Uh… well it's about Amy…"

"What about her?" he asked almost eagerly.

"Well, it's kinda hard to explain, but it's important for you to know that she's not mad at you anymore, she really isn't. But she can't exactly come see you so-

"I know that."

"Oh?"

"She called me."

"OH! That's good, so maybe you already know… but if you did then you would probably be on your way already… unless you are then there was no point-

"You're rambling… and what would she have told me?"

"Oh… so she _hasn't_ told you yet."

"She hasn't told me _what_ yet?" Tala was really starting to get annoyed by this conversation. Apparently, Bryan was too, but for a different reason. He wanted to continue their match.

"Well... umm, a lot of time has passed since she left... andshedoesn'tknowwe'recallingyou,ifshedidwe'dbedead,andwellshe'skinda,alittlebit,mostlypregnantandyoureallyshouldcomeseehereIthinkshe'd-

"What?"

"Umm…."

"If you're not going to talk sense why'd you call?"

"Errr…" On the other line there was a sound of a struggle and someone saying 'just give me the phone' in an annoyed tone.

"Hi, Tala, it's Kaylie."

Tala rolled his eyes, "Mind telling me what this is about?"

"What Mel was _trying_ to say (A/N: tried and failed!) was that Amy," Kaylie paused, taking a deep breath, "Amy is about four or five months due."

"Look, I have no idea what you're talking abo-" Tala froze. Due? Due for what? "K-Kaylie… are you suggesting that-"

"I'm not suggesting anything, I'm telling you that she is, Tala Volkov." Kaylie's voice had a sense of superiority in it; pride as well. "You, are going to be a father in a couple of months… and I guess Kai's going to be an uncle…"

Tala dropped his phone; the color draining from his face. _A father…? Me… a father? _He recalled Spencer suggesting such a thing and how he had, quite harshly, brushed off the idea. He guessed he'd have to apologize for that. As soon as his horror passed, the feeling of pure happiness filled him. He was going to be a father... not just any father, the father of Amy's kid! He grinned brightly, hanging up his phone without saying bye to either of Amy's friends.

"What are you so happy about?"

Then he remembered Kai.

_Oh crap._

blackamber- I hope you enjoyed!

Sadie- nothing really to say here...

Brook- blackamber may have Amy singing to the stomach in the next chapter... maybe Tala will arrive in Canada too, though that may happen in the chapter AFTER

Tala- (still stunned)

Bryan- uhhh... Tala's still on his happiness high and is unable to say or do anything...

blackamber- (pokes him) You're right! Hmm so who shall say his line... ummm

Amy- (bored because of a certain older woman) R&R


	10. A Lot of Talking and Decisions to Make

blackamber- wooo another chapter!!

Sadie- wow, you have a lot of time on your hands for a university student...

blackamber- what? I only had one class today and I need to get this out now 'cause I have to study like mad for the next little while. (grumbles) stupid mid-terms.

Courtney- awww, Muffin

blackamber- (still grumbling) you sound like my sisters

Brook- usual disclaimer

Amy- enjoy

Melissa- or else the pregnant woman will hurt you

WHAM!

Melissa- WAHH! See!?

Kaylie- oh, and blackamber does not own the song Danny Boy... she doesn't know who does, all she knows is that it is a traditional Celtic song of some sort.

Amy flopped onto her bed after a rigorous training session with Courtney and Sadie; it wasn't rigorous for her physically, but mentally those two drove her insanity to its limits. Mentally, she was exhausted. So she lay on her bed, thinking about what Norah told her about talking.

"She says that you can hear everything I'm saying, and that's how you know me apart from anyone else. If Tala were here… would you know him as your father when he speaks?" She looked at the swell, not that it was easy to _not_ look at it. It kinda took up her entire field of vision when she was lying down.

She started humming lightly, a song she hadn't heard for years.

_Oh Danny boy_

_The pipes the pipes are calling_

_From glen to glen and down the mountain side_

_The summer's gone and all the roses falling_

_Tis you, tis you must come and I must bide_

_But come ye back when summer's in the meadow_

_Or when the valley's hushed and white with snow_

_Tis I'll be here in sunshine or in shadow_

_Oh Danny boy, oh Danny boy I love you so_

"What makes you so sure it's a boy?" Brook teased from the entrance to Amy's room.

The seventeen year old grinned at her friend, "I'm not; it could be either. I just like the song."

"Reminds you of the trip we took with the Carters, huh? Ireland and Scotland, Wales." Brook sat down on the edge of the bed, smiling at her friend. "It's been a while since you've sung on your own… don't stop for my sake."

Amy grinned and picked up where she left off.

_And if you come, when all the flowers are dying_

_And I am dead, as dead as I well may be_

_You'll come and find the place where I am lying_

_And kneel and say an "Ave" there for me_

_And I shall hear, tho' soft you tread above me_

_And all my dreams will warm and sweeter be_

_If you'll not fail to tell me that you love me_

_I'll simply sleep in peace until you come to me_

_But come ye back, when summer's in the meadow_

_Or when the valleys hushed and white with snow_

_Tis I'll be here in sunshine or in shadow_

_Oh Danny boy, oh Danny boy I love you so_

_Oh Danny boy, oh Danny boy I love you so._

"You think of names yet?"

"A few."

"Oh?"

Amy sighed, "Girl names… boy names…"

"Is one Danny?" Brook teased.

Amy laughed, "No, never even considered it."

"Well, let's hear a few." Brook rearranged herself so that she was sitting cross-legged and facing Amy.

"Well, girl names I thought of Thea, Cali, Tear, and Rose."

"You never stuck me as a Rose person," Brook stated.

"Yeah, well Rose is the only girl name that I know the Russian name for as well."

"Ah." Brook grinned like a chesire cat.

"Don't look at me like that."

"Alright, and boy names?"

"Dylan, Gale, Dimitri, or Jacob."

"Another Russian name?"

"The baby's father _is_ Russian," Amy reminded, feeling guilty if she were to call her child an 'it'.

"Point taken." Brook laughed with her friend, before sighing and asking, "You miss him?"

"Every waking moment."

"Then why _don't_ you call him?" inquired Brook.

"I did! I just haven't, you know, _told_ him."

"You should get on that."

"I know! Every keeps harping about it and telling me that, but I know! I know I should tell him, I know that I'll have to eventually… but-

"It's hard, huh?"

Amy nodded, sitting up. "When you have something like this happen in your relationship you'll understand just how hard it is."

"Yeah, I don't plan on getting knocked-up anytime soon."

"Sure that's what they all say," Amy giggled.

The two teens began to laugh like they would have before any of this happened.

* * *

"Hmmm."

"You say something Court?" Melissa asked.

"No… I just thought… what's Amy going to say when Tala shows up here," she responded.

Kaylie and Melissa froze in the midst of what they were doing. They never even considered that. "If she doesn't know it was us-"

"She's going to ask him what he's doing here… and I imagine neither of you said anything to him about not mentioning it to her, did you?"

Both shook their heads.

"You know Kaylie, for a genius you're pretty stupid."

"Hey!"

"Another thought…"

"What?"

"Why didn't we include someone who can drive in our plan?"

"Why would we need someone to drive?" Kaylie asked.

"How is Tala going to get here from the airport then?"

Once again, neither Kaylie or Melissa gave it much thought.

"Oh well, once she finds out at least I'm safe," Courtney shrugged.

"How do you figure that?" demanded Melissa.

"You two were the ones who talked to him and told him about her… situation, as far as he knows, I had nothing to do with it."

* * *

"What are you doing?" Bryan asked, watching Tala rush back and forth across his room, packing.

"I'm going to Canada," he stated firmly.

"Why? Did something happen?" asked Bryan with concern.

Tala paused, "You swear not to tell Kai, no matter what?"

"We're bros aren't we?"

"Amy's 4 or 5 months pregnant."

"I thought that was impossible," jeered Bryan, also recalling the suggestion that Spencer had made not all that long ago.

"I know… I was stupid to so quickly deny that it was possible."

"So… any ideas when it happened?"

Tala shrugged, "four or five months ago."

"Obviously. I meant any ideas towards the date? I mean, the fact that she's pregnant suggests that you guys did 'it' a few times, but you can't have done it without protection more than one or two times right?"

"Why are we talking about my girlfriend's and mine sex life?"

"I was just curious. Besides, if you pin-point a date, you can determine whether it is 4 months or five months."

Tala considered this; Bryan had a point. "I dunno, the only date I can really think of that would be the most probable was the time we all went out and drank."

"Hmm?"

"You got pretty trashed that night so I wouldn't be surprised if you don't remember."

"Was that… when we were celebrating that victory… five months ago?"

Tala nodded, "That's the one."

"Well, there you go," Bryan said, clapping his hands together, "she's obviously five months pregnant."

"Thank you Dr. Kuznetsov. The great mystery of my girlfriend's pregnancy has finally been solved," Tala jested.

"Hey, what are you going to do if she's all moody and stuff?"

"Suck it up and hope that the kid's premature." Tala shut his bag, wondering whether or not he should bring Nicol. The dog, as if hearing his thoughts, looked up at Tala hopefully, whimpering slightly. He knelt down, scratching the husky's head, "You win," he whispered.

"And what are you going to tell Kai, should he ask?"

"That I'm going to visit Amy."

"And if he decides he's coming along?"

"Start planning my funeral."

"If you have Amy on your side, I may have to plan his."

Tala gave him a confused look.

"Hell hath no fury like a pissed off pregnant woman," Bryan snickered.

"I'll keep that in mind."

"At least if Kai tries to kill you she'll interfere."

"Hopefully."

* * *

"So… what's it like?"

"What's what like?" Amy questioned, looking at Brook oddly.

"You know what I mean," Brook responded, looking quite interested.

"You don't want to hear about that."

"Yes, I do… well not like detailed description, but what it's like."

"It's… I don't know… at first, it's like feeling whole for the very first time and then it just grows into this feeling of elation, where you just want to burst with-"

"Happiness?"

"I would say ecstasy, but that works too."

"It means the same thing."

"Yeah, but for what I'm talking about, ecstasy is the better word." Amy folded her arms behind her head, completely relaxed, "I don't regret it."

"Now… are you talking about the protected sex… or the one that landed you with a bulge in your stomach?" Brook inquired lying down next to her friend and staring at the ceiling.

"Both, there is no difference in how they feel… that and I don't really remember the unprotected one."

Brook sniggered, "Go figure, like the typical teen trauma story; you get drunk and then knocked up."

"Yeah, but those girls regret it afterwards and their guys turn into asses," reminded Amy.

"You were quite angry at Tala when you came here."

"He didn't know about this though."

"You expect him to act differently."

"I don't know what to expect as a reaction from him. I'm hoping shock and happiness."

Brook fell silent, not wanting to mention the possibility that he could be anything but happy. "Who do you think it will look like?"

"I don't know who I think_ the baby_ will look like. I've had dreams of the kid being a boy and looking like him, then others where he looks like me. And I've had dreams where he is actually a she and once again looks like one of us one night, then the other the next. So I can't say for sure." Amy made it known that she did not like people calling her baby an 'it'; it made her feel like she was carrying some demon spawn.

Brook nodded, looking at the swell. "Well, personally, I hope the baby's a girl and looks like you. You were a cute kid."

Amy barked with laughter, "Yeah, if you like a stammering, epileptic insomniac covered in gashes and bruises."

"Well, without all those ailments, you were a cute kid." Brook chuckled, shaking her head slowly. "What about lullabys?"

"What about them?"

"How are you going soothe your baby to sleep if you don't have lullabys?"

"I know plenty of songs, I'll just choose one of my old ones that has a slow and calming melody; like when I'm trying to soothe Indy."

Brook sat up with a look of excitement on her face, "You should use Danny Boy as your lullaby!"

"Why?"

"Well you just sang it to the kid not too long ago, it would be perfect. Singing him or her the song while they were still in the womb and then when their out. It's adorable!"

"You think everything about this is adorable," noted Amy, unenthusiastically.

"That's 'cause it is adorable! My best friend is having a baby, what could be more adorable?"

"Perhaps I will feel your sense of frightening excitement when _you_ are the one carrying around 15 pounds of extra weight."

Brook's eyes suddenly shone with wonder, "Oh! Can you imagine it, me having a baby too! Our kids would _have _to be playmates, of course-"

"Isn't that kinda hard to do, with me living in Russia and all, and you in Hong Kong."

"Pshh, excuses."

Amy sighed and shook her head; Brook's personality could certainly do 180's on her, but that's what made her interesting. _Maybe,_ she thought,_ I'll tell him tomorrow._ She slowly drifted off into a much needed sleep as Brook continued rambling over the possibility of their children being playmates and best friends.

As Amy's thoughts lulled her into a deep sleep, a certain red haired Russian, multi-colored husky and- much to the displeasure of the Russian- a slightly younger, two-shades of blue colored haired Japanese teen boarded a plan bound for Toronto's Air Canada Airport.

* * *

blackamber- GASP! they're on their way to CANADA!!

Sadie- Oh no!

blackamber- (blinks)

Sadie- Hi!

blackamber- (waves awkwardly) hi...

Sadie- what's wrong...?

blackamber-well, usually by now you pull a Kai and mock me or get angry at me for some reason...

Sadie- well, I have nothing to be angry about so I decided to join in on the dramaticness.

blackamber- ah...

(awkward silence)

Bryan- You're hopeless...

blackamber- YOU DO NOT SPEAK UNLESS YOU HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT!!

Bryan- ('the hell' look) where'd she get the megaphone?

Sadie- (sitting on lawn chair with a tropical drink; shrugs) who knows. Why am I getting such great treatment is a better question?

Bryan- this has no point to the story

Kai- when does it ever

Tala- R&R

* * *


	11. More Training and Meeting Again

blackamber- WOOO! I updated!! and it's a long one too

Bryan- I thought you had midterms?

blackamber- I do, but I'm bored!

Bryan- Well, if you fail it's not my fault

blackamber- (beaming really happily for some reason) Of COURSE it is!

Amy- usual disclaimer

Brook- Also, any of you who may have watched Now and Then in their childhood, may recognize, or may not depending if you remember or not, a line tha is said between Amy and Brook.

Courtney- ENJOY!

"Hey Amy," Claire's voice came from behind her as she relaxed on one of lawn chairs in the Carters' backyard, watching Sadie work alone on her control.

"What?" was the apathetic reply.

"I have to run a few errands and Matt's out for the day, could you possibly watch Keith for me?" the older blond asked, smiling in a similar way as Norah did when she wanted something; the same smile that no-one, not even Amy, could say no to. "And you can always think of it as practice."

Amy sighed, pretending to watch Sadie and Anubis weave through the pylons she had Kaylie set up, since Norah wouldn't let her bend over for any reason. "Fine," she answered.

"Thanks!" Claire squealed, dumping her son into Amy's arms.

"Wha- now?" questioned Amy in slight shock.

"Well, yeah. If it weren't now I would wait for Matt to finish his clinical today," Claire answered.

Amy always found it easy to forget that both Matthew and Claire were doctors, she looked down at the small blond boy in her arms, "You are going to be one spoiled kid," she commented dryly.

"You got that right," Claire beamed waltzing towards her truck, "take good care of him."

Amy didn't feel the need to respond; she just stared at the baby in her arms. She couldn't deny how much the baby looked like her mother and privately prayed he'd turn out like his father; she would feel sorry for Matthew if he had to deal with _two_ Claire's, even if one was smaller and a boy.

She ran a tender finger through his dirty blond tuft at the top of his head, earning a tiny giggle from the baby. She smiled down at him; her grey eyes locking with his green ones. He giggled again and reached a chubby hand up towards her. "Well, you certainly are an attention grabber," she teased with an easy smile.

Sadie looked up from her practice and over at her master. She smiled vigorously, "You're going to make a great mom."

Amy looked over at her, "You think so."

Sadie nodded, her black locks bouncing as she did so. "You're so patient and caring; you have so much to offer a kid. You taught me a lot."

"You're not a baby though," Amy remarked, "it's different."

"Well, that's what Tala's for, right?" joked Sadie, "to vent to and let loose _all of your_ mood swings on."

"A flaw in your theory," said Amy with a roll of her eyes, "he's not here for me to let loose all of my mood swings on."

"Oh right," Sadie said, smiling like a chersire cat and fighting the urge to laugh slightly.

"Sadie," Amy's voice was deathly serious, "what do you know?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," lied Sadie, "nope not a thing." Her voice was shaky signaling that she was caught for something.

"What did you do?" demanded Amy, trying to keep her tone calm as to not startle Keith.

"I didn't do anything!" That was at least, she had only thought up the idea and suggested it to the others.

"Oh really?" inquired Amy, raising a brow.

Sadie knew the look and squirmed uncomfortably. Another reason why Amy would make a good mom, maybe not in her children's eyes, she had a look that kids squirm under; of course they only squirmed if they had done something or at least contributed to the doing of something.

"Sadie," this time, there was a warning tone in her voice.

"I merely made a suggestion, that's all," she admitted, "we didn't actually do anything."

"What suggestion did you make?"

"Ummm, I don't really remember, it was a while ago."

Amy wasn't convinced, and her look vocalized this.

"I suggested that we should Tala since it didn't look like you were going to."

"And did you?"

"No!"

Amy nodded, she could see that Sadie was at least telling the truth at that point. "Who did you make this suggestion to?"

"Courtney, Melissa, and Kaylie."

Amy cursed slightly, Mel always seemed to find ways to avoid her when Amy had questioning to do; it was as though she had an internal alarm system that told her that Amy wanted to talk to her about something none too pleasant. As for Courtney and Kaylie, well Courtney was immune to the look and could lie straight through her teeth without Amy being able to detect it and Kaylie also had ways of avoiding the truth. She didn't know how she did it, but it was almost like she could dodge the truth with something very close to the truth but not entirely it. It was confusing to think about it. Come to think of it, her entire team, as she had grown up with them, had discovered ways to hide when they were lying to her.

_Guess it's something one learns when they're with a person for a while,_ she thought with a sigh, turning her attention back to Keith and saying, "You still have training to do, don't slack off now."

"But we've been at this for hours!" complained Sadie.

"And you have yet to perfect it," Amy's automatic response came, "remember what I said when I first took you on? 'I'm not going to go easy on you nor am I going to allow you to cut corners. You will work until you reach perfection, I will accept no-"

"You will accept no less from _your_ apprentice. I know, I know," Sadie grumbled, retrieving her Anubis blade and getting ready to run the course again.

"Later I will teach you balance," stated Amy, beginning to bounce Keith on her lap.

"How?"

"Oh, you'll see."

* * *

Sadie struggled to stay atop the black gelding as he circled the arena. She was riding bareback while holding a pole with weights at either end across her chest. "What does this have to do with bey-shooting?" she demanded as she almost fell off again.

"It teaches balance," responded Amy from her seat in the arena.

Keith seemed to be enjoying Sadie's balancing act, for he laughed and clapped as she finally lost her balance and fell into the dirt.

Sadie let out a frustrated groan, getting back to her feet and panting.

Indy came to a stop beside Amy, his ears pricked forward; he seemed to be enjoying himself as well.

"I can't get it right!" howled Sadie, obviously upset. Amy hadn't made her do training like this for a long time and realized that she had forgotten most of what she was taught, in the physical department, once she actually began bey-shooting.

Amy seemed to notice this as well, hence why they were going back to the basics of control and now teaching her how to balance herself.

"You're focusing on too many things at once, making yourself all the more unstable. Get back on Indy," Amy ordered, nodding to Brook, who was helping her with this exercise.

Sadie groaned, but did what was asked. She rode him over to where Brook stood waiting with the pole.

"Sit deep into his back; bring your center of gravity lower, closer to the ground," instructed Amy as soon as Sadie was settled with the pole across her chest again. "The taller you are the higher your center of gravity and the easier it is to push you over. Lower your center of gravity, and you become firmer, more stable."

Sadie followed Amy's orders, trying to lower her center of gravity. It wasn't as easy as it had sounded, and she didn't feel the least bit more stable.

"Separate your hands more," came another order, "your arms should not be able to touch your chest, they should be out by your shoulders."

Readjusting her arm placement was even harder for Sadie, mostly because the pole was heavy.

"You'll get used to the weight in time," said Amy, noticing her struggle.

"In time?" Sadie echoed, that meant that she would be doing this more often. She groaned again.

"If you can circle the arena three times without swaying beyond the natural movement we'll call it quits for today; if not, we'll keep going until you can."

Sadie gulped, but she was determined to end this torture as early as possible.

Brook led Indy forward into a walking gait, then left Sadie to do the rest on her own. That meant, if for whatever reason, Indy's pace quickened, Sadie would have to adjust accordingly. Sometimes, Brook wondered if this was really for training or if Amy just had fun making Sadie do stuff like this.

* * *

Claire waited in the arrivals portion of the Toronto Air Port. She wasn't surprised when Kaylie and Melissa had come to her the day before, asking if she could pick a certain someone up if he were to arrive sometime in the near future, she had over heard the girl's plan of reuniting their stubborn friend and her boyfriend. She surprised, however, when Tala had called her cell asking if she knew any numbers for a taxi off the top of her head.

Apparently, before he left, he leafed through Amy's phone book and thought she would be the safest person to call. He had a feeling that Brook, Courtney and the Carters may not be able to keep to themselves that he was coming, especially Norah, and he _really_ didn't want to talk to Melissa or Kaylie again.

So now, here she was on her 'errand' waiting for the soon-to-be father; the thought still made her grin like a maniac. (A/N: not that she isn't one) She'd have to remember to welcome her new 'brother' appropriately. Like all the members of the Carters' house- Silver Fang, former intern, or family alike- she viewed them all as her family. Claire, was obviously the eldest sister, followed by Amy and Brook, and then, personality wise, Kaylie –even though she _was_ the youngest of the Silver Fang team- then Courtney, Melissa, Emma, and finally, her little Keith. Derek and Norah were of course the parent figures of this family.

Heck, Claire saw them more as her family than her real parents, but then again, her parents were all the way over in Australia and she had come to Canada for PHD and decided to stay. Getting adopted into the Carters ever growing family of misfits through her internship. She and Matthew were supposed to move back to Australia after her internship was complete- him wanting to see the outback and she thinking she wanted to go home. In the end, however, she didn't want to leave. She had a new life here; she had found the perfect home away from home.

_Hmmm, I guess that means I'll have to also see Kai as my brother as well,_ she considered, though technically she should already be seeing him as a brother. _Watch out Kai, I may make you the uncle of my kid too._ She giggled at the thought.

An announcement blared out the arrival of the flight from Russia, and she rose from her seat, heading to the luggage retrieval area. Tala had told her that he was bringing Nicol and she knew all to well how much Nicol hated flying. Knowing it would take a while for the passengers to disembark, she had decided that if the luggage came out first- which rarely happened- she would retrieve the husky who was no doubt in panic mode by now.

Sure enough, Tala and- much to her surprise- Kai arrived before the first piece of luggage entered the circuit.

"So, how was the flight?" she asked, good naturedly, wondering what possessed the boy to bring Kai here when it was obvious he was going to flip. He should have waited at least until after the kid was born.

Tala shrugged, "Decent."

Claire could detect a hint of worry in his character and smiled, _Don't worry, you'll get to see her soon enough, though I'm not too sure how she'll react._

"Where's my sister?" Kai demanded, suspiciously.

"She doesn't know you're here. The master minds behind this plan didn't think about telling her," Claire explained, quickly jumping to retrieve the Air Port designated travel cages. As soon as she opened the door, Nicol bounded out, clearly happy to be free. "I wouldn't be surprised if she killed them when we get back."

"She's doing okay?"

Claire looked at Tala and smile; she knew exactly what he meant. "Uh-huh, both Derek and Matt have checked her out and say that everything's normal. No difficulties so far, although, depending on the day and what state she wakes up in she has been cursing a lot."

Kai was evidently confused by Claire's answer. "Did something happen? And who's Matt?"

"Nothing you should worry about," stated Claire with a wink, "and Matt's my husband."

"Oh yeah, Amy mentioned you had a kid," Tala commented, trying to keep Kai from figuring out too much and asking too many questions.

"Yup, my little Keith," the proud mother beamed, "Amy's watching him right now, I'm hoping that having the presence of a three month old will be enough to prevent her from exploding."

"Will she be that mad?" asked Tala, suddenly wondering if he should have come.

"Not at you guys, no," Claire assured, "but for a certain four others I can't be so sure."

Tala's brow furrowed in confusion, "Melissa and Kaylie were the only ones who talked to me though…"

"Ah, but Sadie and Courtney were also behind it. She won't let them off scot free."

* * *

"This is because I suggested that they call Tala isn't it!?" Sadie cried as she picked herself up off the ground for the umpteenth time.

"Maybe," said Amy, examining her nails as Keith laughed once more at Sadie's unfortunate fate.

"You're so cruel," Sadie continued, mounting Indy again, she knew if she refused to do anymore she'd get an earful… and possibly worse- once could never tell with pregnant women.

"Suck it up," Amy growled as Brook brought Indy once more to a walk.

"Aren't you being a little harsh?" Brook asked, taking Keith from Amy.

"Oh, this is nothing compared to what I used to have her do in Russia. She's just gotten lazy. And besides, we are enjoying ourselves," she said, motioning to Keith, "aren't we Keith?"

As though agreeing, the baby let out a squeal of joy.

"See?"

Brook smiled and shook her head, watching as Sadie managed to complete one and half circuits. _When she focuses, she does fine,_ she thought, _it's when she gets close to completing the task that she gets excited and loses that focus; that is when she face plants and has to do it all over again. Maybe this does have some benefit._

If Sadie could learn to stay focused on what she was doing, instead of letting excitement and other emotions rule shooting style, then she could, without a doubt, challenge Amy and put up, at the very least, a decent fight. Perhaps, that's what Amy really wanted; not for Sadie to learn balance, but to learn self control and focus.

Brook sighed, and as she often had done in the past, she wondered why it was her who had been the team captain, and not Amy. Amy was certainly qualified for it, maybe even more so than Brook was, but she had refused to step up to the plate and insisted that Brook was better suited for it.

_Maybe, it's because of everything that happened back then. She was still fighting to free herself from those places and she felt she couldn't help her team succeed, when she couldn't even help herself._

_It's a good assumption, Brook,_ Madeen voice purred in Brook's mind. (A/N: it appears Hien is not the only one who invades people's minds…)

Brook smiled and refocused on what was happening around her in time to hear Sadie give a triumphant 'Ha!' and 'there!' as she finished her third circuit around the arena.

Amy smiled, rising to her feet, "I am impressed." In her mind, Amy was more than pleased with her apprentice; she knew that if Sadie had just focused she could do the task set before her. "Well done."

Sadie beamed and let the weighted pole slip to the ground, as to not spook the horse that she was riding. She knew how vulnerable she was atop a some-hundred-of-pounds animal, whose weight was mostly muscle, and that she had nothing to really cling on to should he take off. She swung her leg over Indy's back, dismounting and giving him a praising pat.

"This means I'm done for today, right?"

Amy nodded, as she heard the sound of Claire's truck pulling up the drive. "It appears my role of babysitter is done as well."

As Sadie skipped into the house via the back door, Amy led Indy back into the barn; taking Keith from Brook and letting her groom him and get him settled in his stall. Had she done _any_ of that manual labor, Norah would see to it that she never enters the barn again until her kid's born.

"You know is this kid doesn't come soon, I am going to reach in and yank it out myself," she growled in a serious tone as her stomach was assaulted by said kid.

"Well, that will be pretty," Brook laughed, "but I think you should leave the delivery of the kid to the professionals, a.k.a. Derek or Claire's husband."

"Fine, I'll get one of them to do it."

Brook laughed harder at this, "Good luck with convincing them that it's what's best."

Amy sighed, following Brook back outside of the barn and towards the house. That's when it happened; the familiar barking and seeing the familiar blue eyes of her beloved husky who was racing like a mad animal towards her. "Nicol!" Amy shrieked happily as the dog jumped up and down around her, "easy boy."

She didn't even stop to question how he got there, but she was happy to see him. Forgetting Norah's rule about bending over, handing Brook Keith, she hugged her husky tightly, ruffling his ears and planting a kiss on the top of his furry boy. "Oh, my Nicol," she cooed, tears, that she knew were caused by the mood swings, began to pool around her eyes.

"Amy…"

Amy's eyes widened, _That voice!_

She looked up, her grey eyes widening as they locked with the sapphire blue ones of Tala. The tears that had only pooled at the sight of Nicol, were now freely flowing as she stared at him. And she smiled somewhat awkwardly as he rushed towards her.

"Tala," she breathed as he embraced her, tightly yet also carefully.

He began to kiss her as though he thought he'd never see her again, kissing her lips, forehead, cheeks and neck; she didn't protest even kissed back if he lingered on her lips long enough for her to.

Oh how he missed her, the feel of her body, her scent; everything. And judging from the way she was acting, there was no doubt that she had missed him just as much.

He stopped his greeting short, remembering something. He took a step back and took her in, bump and all. He grinned widely, "So it's true."

She smiled and nodded, stroking the bump as though to confirm it without words.

Tala placed his hand over top of hers, looking at her with such devotion that she thought she'd burst. Carefully, she slid her hand out from under his, letting his hand rest alone on her stomach. She watched has his brows creased, staring at his hand, and then his eyes widened as the baby kicked. He looked at her almost in alarm.

"Th-that was…" he sputtered.

She nodded, "_Your_ kid has been doing that _a lot_ lately." There was a teasing annoyance in her voice.

"My kid…" he echoed, looking back at his hand that was still resting on her stomach. "Amy… you should know that…"

"So, this was where you were," she heard Kai's voice and stiffened, she noticed Tala do like-wise. "What are you two-" he paused, getting a good look at her.

Amy smiled sheepishly, flushing a deep color and moving her arms in front of the swell as though it would hide it from her brother.

Kai clenched his fist, staring at the two. "TALA!"

blackamber- Uh-oh... don't you just LOVE cliffies

Tala- I hate you

blackamber- NOOOOOOOOO!! T T (world shatters) My favorite character... hates me...

Amy- He didn't mean it... it's just you do this a lot...

Kai- Please tell me I get to kill him

blackamber/Amy- NO!

Kai- WHY ARE YOU TAKING HER SIDE!? (points to blackamber)

Melissa- 'Cause she's an angry pregnant woman who needs Tala to be alive so that she and him can have more nights of love mak-

WHAM!

Melissa- (runs to blackamber) WAHHHH!! AMY HIT ME AGAIN!!

Bryan- Seeing as I'm the only sane one right now, R&R

blackamber- WE'VE ALREADY BEEN THROUGH THIS!! YOU CANNOT DO BOTH!!

Amy- (rolls eyes) Fine, R&R

* * *


	12. What Do You Think?

blackamber- YAY! UPDATED!! :D

Sadie- Wow... you're on a roll...

blackamber- I know, aren't I?

Bryan- "blackamber is still having trouble with the tie between the names Dimitri and Dylan and hopes that her reviewers will to continue voting."

blackamber- (Nods)

Courtney- usual disclaimer XD

* * *

Recap_: __"My kid…" he echoed, looking back at his hand that was still resting on her stomach. "Amy… you should know that…"_

"_So, this was where you were," she heard Kai's voice and stiffened, she noticed Tala do like-wise. "What are you two-" he paused, getting a good look at her._

_Amy smiled sheepishly, flushing a deep color and moving her arms in front of the swell as though it would hide it from her brother._

_Kai clenched his fist, staring at the two. "TALA!"_

Amy was constantly told that, because she was pregnant, she would easily explode at people. She never thought that, because she was pregnant, her brother _would_ easily explode; well she did, but not to the same degree as he actually did.

Okay, that was a lie too. She knew perfectly how he'd react to the news; so she did what she could to prevent him from killing anyone. She stood between Tala and him and told Brook to get Norah and fast.

"Amy, move," Kai growled darkly, having no desire to hurt his sister in anyway.

"Make me," she snapped, sounding quite childish as she did.

"Aim, I don't want to hurt-"

"Then don't! I can't see why you're so worked up over this!? It's not that big of deal!" she yelled, for once letting her constant mood swings take over.

"It's not _that_ big of deal!? Amy look at you!" Kai yelled back.

"Oh, _come on_ Kai! We've been living alone together for two years! You can't _honestly_ believe we wouldn't have done anything," scoffed Amy.

Tala looked uneasily towards the ground, not particularly wanting to get involved or dragged into the siblings fight.

Kai was about to retort when Amy added, "And besides _I _started it."

Kai's eyes widened, casting a look to Tala who shrugged in a way that said that _that_ was true.

"Yeah, b-but, a kid Amy? You're not ready for that," he stated, regaining his composure.

"Not on my own I'm not," she retorted, "why can't you just be happy for me?"

"Maybe because you're my little sister and you got yourself knocked up by… by _him_!"

Had this argument been about anything else besides the fact that Amy was pregnant, Tala would've taken that insult to heart and voiced his own protest. In this case however, doing so was equivalent to the offering of oneself to a pack of mad animals. The result would not be pretty.

Amy rolled her eyes, "Grow up Kai, things happen. I'm happy; the happiest I've been for a while. Just please don't-" She felt her mood take another sharp turn, from anger to depression. Nicol, sensing her mood, began to whimper and rub his head against her leg gently.

Tala, hearing the change in her tone, instinctively moved into the 'field of battle'; wrapping a caring arm around her shoulders. He moved her into his embrace, not saying anything, just offering silent comfort.

Kai felt a pang of guilt, even though he knew the mood swing was not under his sister's control. However, it wasn't as if he suddenly forgave Tala for sleeping with Amy either; after being perceived as a bad guy by her for so long, the last thing he wanted was for her to hate him again.

He sighed deeply, pressing his fingers on the bridge of his nose. Glaring at Tala, he said in a dark voice, "You do anything else to her, and not even she will be able to stop me from ripping your throat out."

"Kai!"

"I'm not going to hurt her, I would never hurt her," was Tala's immediate response, in an equally dark voice.

"What's going on out here!?" Norah demanded, stomping out into the backyard, "what was with all that shouting?"

"It was nothing," Amy said, "just saying hello."

Norah gave her look that said, 'I'm not as naïve as you think.' "You should be relaxing," the woman stated, her hands placed firmly on her hips.

"I was… a moment ago."

"Having a yelling match with your brother is no form of relaxation, you shouldn't be taking on extra stress."

"I'm fine, really."

Norah gave her a skeptical look, "Go inside and lie down for a little bit."

"Norah! I'm-

"I know _your_ fine, but your not just looking out for yourself anymore," reminded Norah, "go lie down for a bit."

Amy sighed, walking inside.

"It's good to see you boys again," Norah beamed at them, "and I hope you'll help me make sure she takes it easy; the last thing she needs is more stress." The last part was, seemingly, directed at Kai.

"YOU THREE!" Amy's voice came from inside the house; followed immediately by Courtney dramatically screaming, "RUN AWAY!!"

The back door banged open as Courtney, Kaylie, and Melissa rushed to the safety of the outdoors, and Norah.

"Though, I guess if she hadn't vented all that frustration out, God knows what she would've done to those three," Norah chuckled.

* * *

"So, when did we move upstairs?" Tala asked, in amusement as he lay beside her on the bed.

"Since Norah become my personal jailer," grumbled Amy.

"She just wants to make sure you're taking care of yourself."

"She's going a bit overboard."

Tala smirked, gently pulling her against his chest. He had missed these moments of just the two of them together. "You know, I really thought Kai was going to kill me there."

"Aw, you don't have to worry about him, I wouldn't have let him kill you. I still need you alive."

Tala raised a interested brow at her, "Oh?"

Amy nodded, "If you're killed, I'm stuck raising the kid on my own and I do not want to be a single mother."

Tala chuckled lightly, "Is that the only reason?"

"If I weren't so sure that you'd take it literally, I would say yes." She grinned at him, letting her head fall against his shoulder.

He kissed her head, letting his hand rest against her stomach. "I'm really sorry about what I said, I didn't mean it, I was just-"

"It's alright, I understand. I wasn't being the easiest to deal with then." She gave him a light peck on the lips, "Just pretend it never happened."

Tala wore a broad grin as he moved in to give her a much deeper kiss.

* * *

"Focus," Amy ordered, from her lawn chair positioned outside of the arena. Tala was sitting beside her- with Kai on her other side- watching Sadie's exercise. They had long since gotten over the… confusion that plagued them when they first witnessed the exercise, but once Brook explained her theory, they understood why Amy was making the young girl ride bare-back will holding a weighted pole.

Sadie, by this point -which was a month and a half later- had progressed from the walk, to a jog, and now to a fast trot.

"I'll give you focus when I knock that kid outta you with this pole," Sadie muttered darkly under her breath.

Amy sighed, "If you are still able to think up some kind of retort, you obviously aren't focusing hard enough." Although she had not really heard what Sadie had said, she saw her lips move and knew that she was muttering something about her.

"I was not muttering a retort," Sadie snapped, before losing her balance and falling from Indy's back, "oww."

"Well, whatever it was, it obviously distracted you. Get up and try again."

"Amy, what if she's-

"If she was hurt I wouldn't have told her to try again. If there's one thing she knows, and will never forget, is how to fall properly without hurting herself. " Amy tried to get to her feet, but was hit with a heavy contraction and stumbled instead.

Kai gapped in alarm, not sure what to do; Tala on the other hand, having seen these a lot over the past month, quickly caught, helping her back into her seat. The child seemed to enjoy causing contractions.

The first time it happened, Tala had panicked, thinking that it meant she was going into labor. It wasn't until Derek explained that early contractions were normal and that he didn't have to worry did he calm down. He was also told (A/N: I'm pretty sure this is not true, but bear with me) that the more 'forced' contractions she had, the closer she was to her due date.

And, as mentioned earlier, this happened _a lot_. He had also brought this to Derek's attention, with her still having three months.

"_You don't need to worry, by now the baby's fully developed so there'd be no harm if it were a few months premature. If it were still in the development stage I would be worried; it'll be perfectly normal if she were to go into labor anytime between now and her predicted due date," Derek had smiled._

This news, you would think, would ease Tala's worry, but not this time. Well, he was relieved that Amy was okay and that she would be regardless if the kid decided to come early or not, but if what Derek said about the contractions was true, then he was going to become a father a hell of a lot faster than he had planned.

Well, once again, he _was _becoming a father a hell of a lot faster than he had _originally_ planned, but that was his own fault. He was the one who was drunk that night, not her; he was the one who didn't think of using protection in his intoxicated state. And he knew, that since the action of making love had become an almost ritual for the two, it never once crossed Amy's mind that he might not use one- he always had before without reminder.

He sighed deeply, coaxing her head onto his shoulder, trying to help keep her relaxed. He watched as her face scrunched in pain again, wondering if it was another contraction or if the baby kicked her again.

"I seriously think this kid is going to kick a hole in my stomach and come out that way," she groaned, taking her attention away from Sadie's training for the first time that day.

Tala smirked, staring at her stomach as though he too were expecting it to happen.

Kai just hmphed, still not really liking the whole situation; he accepted the fact that he was going to be an uncle, and that Tala was going to become his brother-in-law to ensure that Amy was well looked after, but just because he accepted it didn't mean he had to like it.

Amy gave Tala a mischievous look, "Hey Kai, I want your opinion."

"On what?" the older Hiwatari asked, somewhat crossly.

"Do you think it'll be a boy or a girl?"

Kai gave her a look that read 'are you serious? Why would I care what gender your bastard child is?'

"Don't be like that Kai," Amy pleaded, "I really wanna know what you think. And I _know_ you're at least a little curious."

Kai wouldn't admit it, but he was curious. He was privately praying that, whatever gender the kid turned out, it would look like his sister and he wouldn't see an ounce of Tala in it. He gave a resigned sigh and a shrug. "I dunno Aim, if you're so curious why not just get an ultrasound or whatever."

"I just wanted an opinion, I don't really want to know just yet. Knowing takes away half of the fun."

Kai rolled his eyes.

"Hey Amy! I did it! Did you see me?" Sadie asked, excitedly.

"That's great Sadie," Amy cheered, "now do it again."

"AWWWW!"

* * *

"So… what do you think the baby's going to be?" Tala asked in the sanctity of their room. (A/N: Not! There room is anything but pure.)

Amy shrugged, "Either or."

"You have no preference?"

"Nope, no matter what it turns out as, it'll still be my baby and I'll love it regardless."

Tala gave her a look of adoration before pulling her into a gentle hug. With a confident smirk, having also discussed _this_ with Derek, he nipped her earlobe and whispered huskily in Russian to her.

She groaned slightly, "You are such a tease."

"Why? Are you turned on?" he wore his lopsided grin that always made her melt.

"Maybe just a little," she admitted, meaning to give him only a small peck on the lips; but this 'peck' quickly turned into a long and passionate kiss, and ended when both parties were naked and drenched in each others sweat.

blackamber- If you couldn't guess... yes Tala and Amy did 'it'

Sadie- Big surprise

blackamber- OO YOU SHOULD NOT BE WITNESSING SUCH ACTS!! YOU ARE TOO YOUNG! YOUR VIRGIN EYES CANNOT FATHOM WHAT HAS HAPPENED!! BRYAN TAKE HER AWAY FROM HERE!!

Bryan- Okay okay, just stop screaming, jeez.

Sadie- awww... :(

Brook- Since Tala is obviously (cough) preoccupied, I will take the liberty of saying-

Melissa- (jumps out of nowhere) R&R!

Brook- HEY!


	13. Morning Thoughts

blackamber- This was a fun one...

Courtney- Why'd Tala talk to Amy in Russian before they made love?

blackamber- Well, I was thinking to myself, if I were to have someone speak to me in any language in the world while making- or before making- love, it would be Russian, so I decided that he would.

Courtney- interesting...

Sadie- (calls from outside my room) Am I allowed back in the room now?

blackamber- Yup, remember kids, love making is for adults XD

Courtney- You say that, you made Amy pregnant and making love to Tala at age 17... she's younger than you!

blackamber- That's besides the point

Brook- Usual disclaimer

* * *

Amy woke up the same way she usually did during these final months of her pregnancy. Exhausted and to the firm kicking of the little brat inside her- or to a horribly painful contraction. She urges for the most ridiculous things and soon found herself losing her voice from picking fights with people and coaching Sadie.

The Carters extended family (which is what we will call Claire, Brook, Amy and them) were not overly heartbroken as Amy's voice began to dissipate. Norah and Claire felt sorry for her, because they knew how hormonal she was right now and yelling made it somewhat better- as long as it wasn't a stressful argument that she got herself in. However, the silence didn't last long, for her voice returned the following week.

For the past few weeks, Norah was on a mission; convince Amy to agree to an ultra sound. And she had almost achieved said goal, had Tala not stepped in. Although he was curious, he was not about to do let Norah get away with convincing Amy to do something she didn't want to do.

Amy was eternally grateful that he had come, regardless of what she had said to Courtney, Melissa, Kaylie, and Sadie about going behind her back on matters such as this. She watched him sleep as her alarm clock flashed the numbers 4:23. Unable to stop herself, she ran her fingers diligently along his hairline. He grunted a little in his sleep, and scrunched his face slightly, but did not wake.

Amy narrowed her eyes, another mood swing taking control. If she couldn't sleep, why should he? She stroked him again, this time not taking any precautions about not disturbing his sleep. Tala scrunched his face once more, groaned and rolled over, so that he was facing her. Slowly he opened one eye and stared at her.

"In your own words," he began, "some of us _are_ trying to sleep."

She knew he was teasing, and for that she refused, under any circumstances to let another mood swing react for her. "Really," she said, kissing him lightly, and quoting his own words, "I hadn't noticed."

He grinned, for a moment forgetting her 'condition' and pulled her roughly too him. His eyes widened as he felt her stomach against him and panicked, dropping his grip around her, "Sorry, I… I-"

She placed a finger to his lips, "It's alright, no harm done."

He slid his hand over the swell, as he often does. It was as if part him didn't really believe that there was a baby- his baby- in there. It was kinda soothing to feel the tiny kick against his hand, though he couldn't imagine how painful it must be for Amy. He rested his head against her stomach, smiling.

"What are you doing?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"This," he said, giving the bump a kiss before going up to her eye level and giving her a kiss as well. "What time is it anyway?" he asked.

"Umm… past four," Amy replied sheepishly.

Tala groaned, "You woke me up at four? Why?" he dreaded the answer, wondering if it was for one of her weird cravings.

"No reason," she responded.

"So… why can't I go back to sleep?" he asked, once again dreading the answer.

"I don't see why you get to sleep when I can't," she stated, a little agitated.

Tala's brows creased, "Are you alright? Did something happen to-"

"It's fine… just another contraction," she stated as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Of course, if it's not your weird cravings it's the kid kicking, if it's not the kid it's the contractions, I get it," Tala joked sarcastically, suddenly thinking that the kid could not be born quick enough.

As if proving his point, Amy winced heavily. "Every time that I think I'm finally getting used to the contractions, I'll have one that's at least ten times worse than the last."

"Are they supposed to be that bad?"

She shrugged, "Derek says it's normal."

"Of course, and since Derek says it's normal it _has_ to be okay," grumbled Tala.

"He is a doctor," Amy reminded.

"I'm going to ask Claire's husband, he's the baby doctor."

"He's not a baby doctor, he's a doctor for pregnant women."

"Even more of a reason to ask him. Derek is just a doctor, Claire's husband is specifically for people like you."

"That makes me sound like a completely different race of human," Amy said, unimpressed by his choice of words. "And I'm more comfortable with Derek, I've known him longer. I was very against it when Derek told me Matthew was going to be delivering the baby."

"Is he qualified for that? I thought you said he was only for pregnant women?"

"That is part of his job… he can't just take care of pregnant women and then run away the moment they go into labor." She wasn't really in the mood to explain it all to Tala, especially when he was in paranoid mode.

"So what happens when… uh… you know…"

"I go into _labor_?" she put extra emphasis on the word since he seemed so uncomfortable with it. Honestly, for someone who was two years older than her he could really act childish.

"Yeah, that…"

"Well, I go through a lot of pain, curse everything in the world, curse you a lot more, and break your hand," Amy said, listing the things off on her hand, "according to Claire. Though, in Claire's case she broke Derek's hand 'cause Matthew was a little preoccupied with delivering their son."

Tala paled slightly, "You think I could, possibly, become a doctor like Matthew in less than two months and then take his place?"

"I think you'd faint the moment you had to go into action," Amy said truthfully, with a teasing grin, "it's not a pretty sight… and I may have exaggerated a little."

"I thought so, there's no way you could break my hand," Tala grinned.

"Oh no, I _will_ break your hand… unless Norah tells you that you're not allowed in the room, I meant I probably won't curst the world," Amy clarified.

"Why would she do that?"

"'Cause she's crazy like that. She didn't let Derek in with her, according to Claire and Matthew."

"Huh… and yet Claire was different?"

"Claire's husband was delivering the baby and she demanded to have someone's hand she could break that she wouldn't feel guilty about afterwards… so Norah called Derek in."

Tala sighed taking her hand.

"What's wrong?"

"I want you to squeeze it as hard as you can."

"Why?"

"To see if you can actually break it. I'm not going to let Norah chase me out when you have the kid."

Amy sighed, beginning to squeeze his hand.

"Is that the best you can do? And you said you could break my hand," he sneered, kissing her.

"Women get monstrous strength when they are in pain, you have been fore warned," Amy retorted.

"Whatever you say, weakling." He kissed her again and then asked, "Can I go back to sleep now?"

Amy closed her eyes, thinking. "Okay… but I don't see the point of it."

"Why?"

"Well, now that I have your hand, the next contraction I have I'm going to squeeze it to release my pain onto you," Amy said grinning like a child at Christmas, "I will show you that I am no weakling."

Tala groaned again in mild frustration. Truthfully, he was wide-awake now, there was no way he was going back to sleep.

* * *

"Hey… what's with you today?" Brook asked, noticing the exhausted looking Tala who lumbered into the kitchen.

"Amy woke me up around 4:30 this morning and wouldn't let me go back to sleep," he grumbled.

"Welcome to the life of an expecting father," she teased.

"She didn't do this before," he argued.

"Her contractions weren't as bad before."

"She's just trying to get back at me for what I said before she came here."

"I assure you that she's not," Brook laughed, "she's just in a lot of pain, and since you're the one who technically did this to her, she's letting you feel it too. It could also be the act of her mood swings." She shrugged at the last part, not entirely sure of the theory.

Tala slumped his head against the table, "You think she'd notice if I went back to bed?"

"She will now," Amy's voice came from behind him.

"After this, if you ever get pregnant again give me a heads up so that I can escape to an island until the nine months are over," requested Tala.

"If I have to suffer, you do to," she countered.

"I knew it! This is to spite me!" he exclaimed.

"You're being more dramatic than ever," Kai stated, entering the question, "are you sure it is my sister who's pregnant?"

"Kai be nice," scolded Amy as Tala glared at him.

"Just wait till you have a woman who's expecting, then you won't be laughing," Tala growled.

Amy began to have a giggling fit.

"What's so funny?" both Kai and Brook asked as Tala just gave her a questioning look.

"Kai… with a girlfriend…" was all Amy could say before she broke down again.

"Hey!" Kai snapped as Tala too began to laugh.

"Don't blame them Kai, they're running low on energy and need easy laughs," Courtney said, trying to stop herself from laughing as well.

Kai narrowed his eyes at the younger Tate sibling, hearing the insult that she tried to hide.

"You see, that look is exactly why they're laughing," she continued.

Kai got up from the table, "I'm going bey battle outside."

"Oh, I'll come too!" Sadie exclaimed, bouncing into the kitchen.

"Be careful Kai, she might try something," Amy teased earning a deep blush from the ten year old who obviously had a childish crush on her brother.

"I-I just think it might be good practice," Sadie countered.

Kai just gave Amy a confused look, and left.

"H-hey Kai! Wait up!" Sadie yelled, running after him.

"It's a good thing Kai's not interested or I would have to beat his head in," Amy calmly stated.

"Why?" Brook asked.

"She is much too young for him."

Tala chuckled, "I don't think your brother is in to women just yet, he's stuck in 'girls carry cooties' mode still."

"All the better," Amy grinned, before laughing again, "though I seriously think he needs a woman, maybe he won't be such a jerk with one."

"One can hope," Tala muttered.

"Oh! We should try to hook him up with someone!" Amy suddenly exclaimed, earning a look from a certain boy beside her.

"It's just the mood swing talking," Brook explained, "she won't actually go through with it."

"That's what _you_ think," Amy said, "c'mon Tala, it'll be fun!"

"I'm not listening to your ideas of fun until the kid is born," Tala stated, "the last thing you said would be fun was a chick-flick, and you hate those!"

"But this one would really be fun, please Tala," Amy begged.

"Let's wait a few months, then decide whether or not we really want to get murdered by your brother for playing matchmaker."

"He won't mind," Amy said.

"If you want to go through with it, go right ahead," Tala sighed, "just keep me out of it, your brother already hates me enough I don't want to give him yet another reason to send me to an early grave."

"If he tries anything, I'll tell him it was my idea," Amy bartered, pouting slightly. "Please baby."

Tala looked at her, feeling very turned on. She had used the very same tone that she did when they were… _No keep a straight mind. You are not going to bend to this time, it's too ridiculous._ "If you really want to do this to Kai, ask Brook or Courtney to help you, they'd be better at it anyway."

"Aww, but I-" Amy froze in mid sentence and stiffened, brushing her stomach. "Brook… get Derek and Matthew… now…"

"Aim… what's wrong?" Brook asked.

"Just get them please…" she was stunned. It was Tala who had talked to Derek about everything regarding the contractions and premature births, not her. He had just told her it was normal, not what it meant.

"Amy?" Of course Tala was worried, she had just been trying to coax him to play matchmaker and now she was as pale as a sheet and stiff.

"Tala… I think…" she paused hearing Brook leave the room and calling for Derek and asking where Claire and Matthew would be right now so that she could call them.

"What is it?" he pressed.

"Ithinkmywaterjustbroke," she said quickly, feeling a little embaressed.

Courtney gaped at her, choking on the organge juice she was in the process of swallowing.

"W-what?" Tala asked, blinking at her, hoping he had heard wrong.

"I think," she paused again, "my water just broke."

He hadn't.

* * *

blackamber- Uh-oh... hehehe I'm evil aren't I?

Sadie- Yes you are

Tala- (stunned and frozen... much like how he was when he discovered he was going to be a father)

blackamber-We need to fix that... Amy can you-

Amy- You jerk! I'm going into labor and you are requesting something from me! I HATE YOU! I HOPE YOU DIE!

blackamber- (blank stare... then takes out notebook) Note to self, never approach angry pregnant women who are going into labor with requests regarding their baby's father...

Bryan- R&R since I didn't get to read an announcement today


	14. Smoke

blackamber- wooo!

Sadie- Another chapter, I am impressed

blackamber- as am I

Bryan- This chapter is kinda split, the end of the first part of We Will Fall and the start of the second part.

Amy- we hope you enjoy

* * *

Tala paced back and forth in front of the back door. Just as Amy had predicted, Norah had kicked him out.

Melissa was beginning to get whiplash from watching him walk- and Kai- pacing for the past two hours. "You guys really need to relax," she said, "Amy's tough, she can handle this on her own."

Both boys shot her a look that made her regret speaking. "I mean… you _should_ be with her… but because you can't be you should relax in the knowledge that she _is_ capable of surviving this."

"Mel… I think you just chose the wrong word," Courtney said as both Tala's and Kai's eyes widened at the word 'surviving.'

"You don't actually think something might go wrong, do you!?" Tala demanded frantically.

Brook rose, holding him back from bursting into the house. "You go in there, and Norah will skin you alive. Relax, Mel didn't mean it like that."

"You sound so sure that everything's going to be fine," Kai noted, "yet multiple problems can occur when giving birth."

"Have you been reading up on this or something?" Kaylie asked.

Kai responded with a shrug.

"I know Amy, she won't let a little kid take her down," Brook smiled, "and besides, anything horrible that could possibly happen to a person has already happened to her, I doubt something will go wrong."

"_I_ still shouldn't be out here," Tala grumbled.

"Take it up with Norah later," Courtney shrugged.

Tala sighed, looking towards the door. _Be strong Amy…_

* * *

"Why the hell couldn't he be in here!?" Amy demanded, wincing in serious pain.

"Because, men should not see their children being born," Norah stated, calmly stroking her head.

"This is the freaking twenty first century! I want that bastard in here with me!" Amy bellowed.

"Calm down Amy," Norah soothed, "you need to breathe."

"I AM BREATHING!"

"No, you're yelling."

"Give her a break Norah, you remember how it was," Claire smiled.

"I never swore at Derek though," Norah reminded her.

"No, but you did do a lot of yelling… and you know how… colorful Amy's language is. I had no doubts that half the words she'd be spewing would be curses… I'm actually surprised at how civil she's being."

"If this doesn't stop soon, I am going to be far from civil!"

"Just keep pushing Aim, we're making progress," Matthew said from his position at the end of the bed.

"The baby's pretty premature, isn't it?" Claire questioned.

"Not really, it's just a couple of weeks earlier than Emma was," Norah said.

"A couple of weeks can make a big difference though."

"We have equipment to handle it though," Derek said from his side of the room, "if something were to go wrong, I mean."

"If Tala's not allowed in here, WHY THE HELL IS DEREK!?" Amy shrieked.

"You were uncomfortable with Matt at first, right? So to ease your nerves we're having Derek supervise," Claire explained with such a happy smile that Amy wanted to tear her face off.

"I can see the head," Matt said, indifferently.

"That's a good thing, right?" Amy asked, the first calm thing she had said since the birthing process began.

"It means it's almost over, dearie," Norah smiled, wiping her sweat drenched brow.

"Big pushes now, Aim," Matt instructed, "you're almost done."

_Thank god,_ Amy thought.

_You're doing well, warrior,_ Hien's voice interrupted her thoughts.

_Where have you been?_ She demanded, slightly annoyed.

_Nearby, I was conversing with other bit-beasts, _Hien explained.

_So, what brings you back here?_

_You didn't think I'd miss the birth of the new little warrior, did you?_

_Thank you, Hien._

Amy let out a loud scream as relief flooded her body… for about five seconds.

"It's a boy, Aim," Matt smiled, "well do-" He paused.

"What? What's wrong?" Claire asked, over the new-born's wailing.

"Amy… You were carrying twins?"

"I… WHAT!?"

* * *

"That's it, I'm going in," Tala stated, no longer caring about the wrath of the older woman named Norah.

"Your funeral," Courtney said before the back door banged closed.

Tala heard Amy scream and rushed towards the stairs, pausing only a moment when he heard her again, this time actually speaking.

"I… WHAT!?"

Breaking into a run, Tala charged up the stairs and into the room where he had brought Amy earlier- before he had been kicked out.

"ABOUT TIME, BASTARD!" Amy snarled at him before wincing in pain again.

He sunk down beside her, expecting this sort of reaction.

"You shouldn't be in here," Norah scolded.

"So I'm here for my kid's birth, sue me," he shot back.

"Not exactly," Claire said.

Tala looked at her confusion, before realizing she was holding a squirming bundle.

"What…?"

"We didn't want Amy to harm it while the other one's being born," Norah said.

"Other… one?"

Amy rolled her eyes, "Yes, other one. As in I was carrying f--king twins this entire time!"

"You'll get used to her language," Claire smiled.

Tala smirked before offering his hand to Amy.

She looked at it puzzled.

"You still think you can break it?" he mocked.

She took it right before another wave of pain washed over her.

Tala winced heavily at Amy's grip.

"Told you," Amy sneered, "monstrous strength."

"No kidding," Tala cringed, flexing his digits while still holding her hand.

"Keep it up Aim, I can almost see the head of the other one," Matt coaxed.

Tala pressed his lips against her forehead, "You know… I don't think I've ever been more attracted to you," he mumbled.

"Oh yeah? I'm sure I look like f--king Aphrodite."

"I'm serious," Tala smirked- but then winced as Amy squeezed his hand again.

"Want me to look at your hand once this is over, Tala?" Derek asked with an amused expression on his face.

"Let me get back to you on that," Tala bit out.

"Almost done Aim."

"You're sure I'm not carrying triplets or something?" Amy demanded.

Tala paled at the thought of three.

"We would know already if it was triplets Amy. Twins are easy to hide, especially when they're premature; triplets, however, we would have suspected about a month ago if you were carrying them."

Tala praised god that that wasn't the case, he didn't think his hand could take it; not to mention, Amy didn't look too comfortable either. _Well, of course, idiot! She's giving birth!_

"You have no idea how much I hate you right now," Amy growled suddenly.

"Don't take it personally, Tala, it's just the pain," Norah soothed.

"Oh no, I am serious."

"Why?"

"You leave me to suffer for two f—king hours on my own and f—king impregnated me with twins!" she shrieked.

"One more push Aim."

_I've heard that before. _In here mind, she could hear Hien chuckling._ You knew, didn't you!?_

_And if I did?_

_WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME!? _

_It's more fun this way._

She could swear the wolf was smiling and mocking her right then. She let out another cry of pain, squeezing Tala's hand harder than she had been previously.

It took all of Tala's willpower to stop from yelping in pain as well.

"A girl," Matt said, standing up.

"Oh, how wonderful, a boy and a girl." Norah clapped her hands together once in delight.

"Well, Tala, do _you_ want me to look at your hand?" Derek asked.

Tala flexed the fingers once they were free from Amy's grasp. They didn't hurt too bad. "I think I'll live. If they fall off I know where you are."

Derek gave a small nod and a smile. "Congratulations, Amy," he said before leaving the room.

Claire handed Amy her son before following Derek and Matt out, of course, she didn't leave before ruffling Amy's hair teasingly. "He's adorable."

"And this little girl's certainly not short of her mother's looks," Norah beamed, forcing Tala to hold his daughter, "you best treat her right. I'll let the others in once you all have had some time alone."

"Thanks Norah," Tala answered for the both of them. He looked down at his daughter- smiling; she really did look like her mother, except that she had received his red hair. His gaze then traveled to Amy; her facial features showed exhaustion, yet her silver-grey eyes were alive as she looked at her son.

"They're perfect aren't they?" she asked, beaming at him.

He looked over at his son, the small tuft of blue hair evident on his head. "They certainly are something," he mused.

"So… what are we going to call them?"

"Hey, I didn't know about their existence until about two months ago, you have full naming rights."

"Oh no, I am not naming both of them. You name the girl, I'll name this handsome little boy." Amy nuzzled the boys' nose as she spoke, earning a small giggle from him.

"Fine," Tala sighed, looking once more down at his daughter. Her silver-grey eyes peered back at him in wonder. "Thea."

"Thea?" Amy gave him a questioning look after all it had been one of the options she considered for a girl.

"Brook told me all the names that you had thought of and I liked Thea best," he responded, as the tiny girl's eyes drifted close.

"Cheater," Amy mumbled, "then he will have to be Dimka."

"Aim… that's not a boy's name…"

"And you call yourself Russian. Is Dimka not the equivalent of Dimitri?"

Tala began to laugh, "I see. Dimka is the childish nickname for Dimitri, I have yet to meet a single, self-respecting man who willingly allows themselves to be called Dimka."

"Well, seeing as you hadn't caught on to what I meant, I wish to call him Dimitri," Amy clarified.

"Fair enough." Tala kissed her gently on the lips, "You are amazing."

"Guilty as charged," Amy grinned, kissing him back.

Both parties nearly jumped as the door to their room burst open.

"Sorry Aim, I tried to hold them back as long as I could," Claire apologized sheepishly.

"It was bound to happen eventually," Amy shrugged.

"Woah… she's so tolerant now," Sadie said in amazement.

"Norah told us it was twins when she came out," Brook smiled, "so what are their names?"

"Dimitri and Thea," Amy responded, feeling wariness take over.

"You aren't going to drift off before I get a chance to meet them… are you?" Kai teased, moving to her other side, opposite of Tala.

"I thought you didn't care?" Amy teased back.

"I may have changed my mind."

"Kai Hiwatari, are you telling me you are actually excited that you are an uncle?" Amy asked, grinning widely.

"I never said that."

"But you didn't deny it either."

"Come now, let's leave her be. God knows how trying it was for her," Norah said, trying to shoo everyone out.

"Yeah, and I thought having one was hard," Claire added.

"We've set up a mini nursery for them in another room," Derek said, soothingly, "Tala you can take Thea there and I'll bring Dimitri."

Tala nodded, giving Amy a deep kiss. "I love you," he whispered against her lips, "sleep well."

"I know," she whispered back, "and I will."

* * *

_Okay, so I am doing a time jump and starting up the second part of We Will Fall Together… which has a different plot than the first. _

_Plot: Amy has long since given up bey-shooting and, in process of helping to take care of their twin five year old children, Tala has found himself cutting back on the sport. However, when smoke is seen from the direction of Bolkov Abbey, Amy begins to get suspicious that things are taking a turn for the worse. And when Boris returns and kidnaps Thea and Dimitri, Amy and Tala are forced once more to take up their blades and Duo Beybattle to save their children from the same horrors they experienced as children._

_And we know not what we do, (can you hear them call?)_

_Will we ever make it through?_

_As they watch us fall. – Streetlight Manifesto_

* * *

"Ha! Beat ya Thea!" Dimitri teased his sister.

"No fair, Dimka, you cheated!" his sister argued.

"Nu-uh! And don't call me that!" he argued.

"C'mon kids, don't fight," Sadie tried to intervene.

"Yo!"

"Uncle Bryan!" the twins cheered, rushing over to the twenty-four year old.

"Hey tykes," Bryan grinned.

"They're no here," Sadie told him, noticing his arm slung around a woman. She raised an eyebrow in curiosity, but didn't say anything.

"They're not off doing it somewhere are they?" Bryan asked.

"What does, 'doing it' mean?" Thea asked, always the inquirer.

Bryan paled slightly, "Uhh… well… it means that they're… making love."

"Bryan!"

"Ooohhh," the twins said, "what does that mean?"

"It's something they do to show that they love each other," Sadie explained.

"I thought that's what they did when they kissed?" Dimitri said in confusion.

"Well… it involves kissing…" Bryan said, uneasily.

"I know, I'll ask daddy!" Thea said.

"No!" Bryan and Sadie said.

The twins looked up at them in confusion.

"Let's make this conversation, our little secret, okay?" Bryan asked.

"Okay!" the twins agreed; little did Bryan know that they were horrible at keeping secrets.

"What are you corrupting my children with now?" Tala asked, walking into the front yard of his house.

"Daddy! We've gots a secret!" Thea cheered.

"Oh really? What _is_ this secret?" he asked.

"Can't tell you," she mumbled.

"Oh, right," he said, walking by his best friend. He paused, looking at the woman standing next to him. "Another one, Bryan?"

"Uhh, stop teasing me!" Bryan growled, "I can keep a girl! Just 'cause I'm not married yet-"

"Chill Bryan, I meant no harm by it. I was just saying-"

"Yeah, yeah, I got it." Bryan gave Tala a dark look, before turning to his 'companion'. "Tala, this is Lissa, Lissa this is Tala."

"Pleasure," Tala nodded, offering his hand.

"Bryan has told me much of your family, where is your wife? I take it this young woman is much too young," Lissa smiled.

"Yeah, that's Sadie, our on-call babysitter. Amy's out with her horse and dog right now, she'll be back in a little while," explained Tala.

"Hey, daddy," Dimitri tugged on Tala's shirt.

He bent down so that he was eyelevel with his son. "What?"

"Why is it whenever uncle Bryan comes to visit he has a new lady with him?" Dimitri asked in a hushed voice.

Sadie, however, heard exactly what he said and began to laugh.

"It's because your uncle Bryan doesn't know how to keep a girlfriend, like your dad does," Tala chuckled, keeping his voice low as well.

"But I thought you had momma? Why would you need a girlfriend too?" Thea asked, not bothering to keep her voice low.

"Your momma is his girlfriend," Sadie explained, "well, she was until they got married to one another."

"Ooohhh."

* * *

"Come on, ha!" Amy urged Indy to go faster, which was no problem for the thirteen year old gelding; the ten year old dog however, had a much harder time keeping up. He more fit than most dogs his age, but his age made his stamina a little less than what it used to be.

"Come on boys, just a little farther," she urged again, this time more to the old dog.

The black gelding snorted, his hooves thudding into the frozen earth at a brisk gallop.

Amy's eyes caught something in the distance, "Woah," she ordered, sitting back into the saddle. The gelding responded immediately, sliding to a stop. She peered into the direction of Bolkov Abbey, a look that was mixed with fear and curiosity. _What's going on?_ She wondered, watching as the smoke rose in through the cold sky.

"Come on, let's check it out," she muttered, clicking her tongue and sending Indy into a fast trot, much to Nicol's relief. Even with the slower pace, Amy quickly found that the source of the smoke _was_ what she had feared it to be. It _was_ coming from the Abbey. _I gotta tell Tala._

She spun Indy on his haunches, yelling, "HA!"

* * *

blackamber- I hope you enjoyed XD

Amy- Umm... not much to say here so

Tala- R&R

* * *


	15. What Does It Mean?

blackamber- yay! I updated... and I love the twins... so cute KAWAIII!!!

Amy- so annoying...

blackamber- and you're a good mom

Amy- (smiles) I know.

Melissa- I am scared... so usual disclaimer here.

* * *

"Momma!" Thea yelled excitedly as Amy brought Indy to a stop in the front yard, rushing over to her mother.

"Mom!" Dimitri also yelled, running over as well.

Amy jumped down from Indy's back, bending down and catching them in a tight hug as soon as they reached her. "Hey sweet-hearts," she cooed, kissing each of them on the head. As soon as she released them, Thea's attention went to Nicol, hugging the old dog as Dimitri patted Indy's side.

Amy walked further into courtyard style front yard, pausing and raising an eyebrow at Bryan. "Another one, Bryan?" she asked, in the exact same tone Tala had.

"You guys!" Bryan fumed as Lissa laughed beside him.

"You must be Amy," Lissa smiled, "it's nice to meet you. My name is Lissa."

Amy returned the smile, "Your welcome here anytime Lissa, even when you decide to dump this freeloader."

Bryan gaped at her, "Now wait just a minute Aim-"

Lissa broke down laughing, "We'll see Amy, who knows, maybe I'm just what this 'freeloader' needs."

Amy couldn't help but like Bryan's new girlfriend, she was much friendlier than the last few. She turned to Sadie, beckoning the fifteen year old over, "They weren't too much trouble, right?"

"Nope," Sadie replied, "perfect angels as always."

"We are talking about the same children, right?" Amy asked, hearing Tala chuckle.

"Hello love," Tala greeted, snaking his arm around her waist and pulling her to him so that her back was flat against his chest. He kissed her neck gently, debating whether or not he wanted to move deeper in front of the 'crowd'- it was tempting.

Amy spun around to face him, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing his lips warmly. "Hello to you too," she teased, her lips brushing against his.

"Ewwww!" the twins said in unison, 'causing their parents to smile awkwardly.

Tala slowly released his hold on her as Amy dropped her arms down to her side. "That's right," she remembered, "we need to talk."

"Uh-oh bro," warned Bryan, "when a woman says that it's _never _good. If you're not careful she may be breaking up with you."

"What's that mean?" Thea askd, "why would momma break daddy?"

"Not exactly what I meant, kid."

"Bryan, I can't possibly break up with Tala anymore, the only way to escape him now is divorce, which I have no intention of going through," Amy countered before returning her attention back to Tala, "I just need to talk to you."

Tala nodded to her, "Sure."

"Hey, bro, we're gonna get going. Later!" Bryan waved, hooking his arm around Lissa's waist.

"Bye Amy, Tala, it was very nice to meet you!" Lissa also waved as Bryan led her away.

Amy gave a slight wave, nodding to Sadie who signaled that she was leaving as well.

"Bye auntie Sadie!" the twins called, waving ecstatically.

"Now, what's wrong?" Tala asked, his arms finding their way around her waist again.

"I saw smoke while I was out riding."

"Smoke?" Tala didn't quite get why Amy was so worked up about smoke, with the bitter cold that was the recent weather, a lot of smoke was seen in the frozen air.

"From Bolkov Abbey," Amy finished.

"That's impossible," Tala said, "Bolkov Abbey's been closed for years."

"I know what I saw, Tala, I even went to the abbey's gates to make sure it wasn't my imagination. There was smoke coming from the chimney."

"Well, maybe some of the homeless got in to escape the cold," Tala shrugged.

"I don't think so."

"Amy," Tala gave her a reassuring smile, "if Boris was back we'd know; trust me." He hugged her to him, kissing her forehead, "You have nothing to fear."

"I know," Amy sighed, allowing her head to rest against Tala's chest, "but sometimes it's hard not to worry, especially when it's not just us anymore."

Tala stole a quick glance towards Dimitri and Thea who were playing some game with Nicol as Indy watched. "Don't worry, if push comes to shove, I'll protect you and them at all costs; you know I would."

Amy leaned into him, nodding.

"Hey mom!" Dimitri called, running over, "can I ride Indy?"

"Not by yourself, kiddo," she said, "he's a bit too much for you to handle right now."

Dimitri looked a little downcast at his mother's words. Riding the gelding was a fascination her had; he always thought it was so cool watching his mother come galloping into the yard.

"Tell you what Dimka," Amy said, laughing at the way her son scowled at his nickname, "you can come riding with me tomorrow, okay?"

Dimitri grinned at her, "Yeah!"

* * *

"Momma, what's for dinner?" Thea asked later as Amy set to work preparing their food.

"Food," came the immediate reply.

"What kind of food?"

"Hmmm… food for dinner."

"Yeah… but what is it?"

"You'll see."

"But I wanna know."

"Be patient Thea, you'll know soon enough."

Thea pouted slightly, she hated being patient. A thought suddenly came to her; she remembered something that had peaked her curiosity earlier. "Momma."

"Yes love."

"What does 'making love' mean?"

"Oh yeah!" Dimitri spoke up as Tala began to choke on what he was drinking, "what does it mean, mom?"

"Where… where did you hear that?" Amy asked as Tala stopped coughing and gave her a look of horror.

"Uncle Bryan," the twins responded.

"When he came earlier auntie Sadie said that you two weren't here so he asked if you were off 'doing it'? And then Thea asked what that meant, and Bryan said that it meant you were making love. And when we asked what _that_ meant, auntie Sadie said it was a way to show that you guys loved each other that involves kissing. But we don't quite get what it means," Dimitri explained.

"And you won't understand until you're older," Tala grumbled while thinking, _I am going to kill Bryan…_

"Oh, dinner's ready!" Amy exclaimed, trying to change the subject, "you two go wash up."

"But you didn't answer the question," Thea argued.

"It's not a topic to discuss at dinner," Amy stated, "now go wash up."

Thea and Dimitri huffed, stalking out of the room towards the ground floor washroom to wash their hands.

Amy sank into the chair beside Tala, "I have no idea what to say to them."

"Let's just hope they forget about it and not bring it up again," Tala said, seriously wanting to kill his best friend.

Amy reached for her drink, taking a sip and then remembering a call she got from Kai earlier. "My brother called today."

"Oh? What did he want?" Tala asked as the twins came racing back into the room.

"Uncle Kai called!? What'd he say, mom? Is he gonna come visit?" Dimtri asked. Kai was one Dimitri's idols since he was the president of a beyblading company.

"Well, for starters he can no longer be mad at us for having kids before we got married," Amy grinned.

Tala broke down laughing, "No, he didn't."

"Oh yeah, and he has no idea how to handle it so he called me up," Amy said, "his girlfriend's nice so I'm happy for him."

"I don't understand, momma," Thea said, playing with her food.

"You two are going to have a little cousin," Tala smiled, "so, how long ago did this happen?"

"She's five months along," Amy said, "and she had an ultrasound yesterday. The doctor's think it's a boy."

"Knowing ruins the fun," Tala stated.

"There is still a fifty-percent they're wrong."

"I still don't understand momma, do the doctor's talk to the stork about what baby to bring?" Thea asked, "and what happens if he does get it wrong?"

Amy snorted into her food. "Don't worry about it, Thea. You'll understand when you're older."

"That's what you always say!" Thea exclaimed with a scowl.

"Thea, stop bugging your mother and eat your dinner," Tala ordered, calmly.

Thea 'hmphed' and then began to eat slowly, glaring slightly at her father.

"Mom, is what auntie Sadie said about the stork true?" Dimitri asked once he had finished eating.

"What about the stork?" Amy asked.

"About it delivering babies. When auntie Brook came to visit we were walking around town and we saw a really fat lady-

"Dimitri!" Tala scolded, "that's not polite!"

"What? It's true!" argued Dimitri, "but auntie Brook said that she was really fat 'cause she was expecting a baby. So, if it's really a stork that brings the babies, why was she so fat?"

Thea wanted to add her own comment, but just continued to eat her dinner; not wanting to bug her mother.

"No. There is no stork," Amy concluded, before adding, "you have to remember your auntie Sadie's from a different culture so they may be kids stories from her home." That was a lie, but how could she explain it otherwise.

"They believe that in Egypt?" Thea asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"I don't know for certain, but it's an idea."

"What's your culture mom? You're not from here like dad, right?" Dimitri asked.

"I don't really have a culture. I was born in Japan, brought here to Russia, then moved to Canada, where I spent most of my life."

"Well, what's it like being from Canada?"

Amy grinned, "It's cow country."

Thea and Dimitri looked at her confused.

"I worked with horses and cows most of the time," explained Amy, "and played music."

"Were you good momma?"

"She was amazing," Tala said, looking at Amy with a familiar look in his eyes.

Amy rolled her eyes, then gave him a look that said, 'what until later.'

"How come you don't play music no more, momma?" Thea asked.

"I sing to you guys, don't I?"

"Yeah… but you don't _play_ music. There's a difference," Dimitri argued as Thea nodded her head ecstatically.

"I haven't played for a long time. The last time I picked up a guitar was _long_ before you two were born." It may have only been two years difference, but it felt like a lot longer time now that she was twenty-two.

Amy got up from the table, clearing away Dimitri's finished plate and letting Tala and Thea finish. "Thea, after dinner I want you upstairs and hear the tub running," she called from the kitchen.

"Aww momma! Do I gotta have a bath?" whined Thea.

"Dimitri had one last night, so yes, you have to have a bath," was the stern reply.

Thea pouted into her dinner as her twin grinned cheekily at her before hopping off his chair and rushing into the 'family' room- AKA living room.

* * *

"So," Tala growled gently, trailing his finger up her arm. He kissed her collarbone. "The kids are in bed." He kissed her neck. "What are we going to do?"

Amy grinned, turning on her side so that she was facing him, "I don't know, what are we going to do?"

Tala gave another low, possessive growl, moving so that he was straddling her. "It's been sometime since we've done this… you sure you can still handle me."

"Oh shut up and kiss me," Amy purred.

Tala grinned down at her, about to grant her demand when the door opened a sleep voice said, "Momma…"

Tala let out a exasperated sigh, rolling off Amy, as she sat up, clutching the blanket up to shield her bare skin. "What is it Thea?" she asked, concerned.

"I had a bad dream… can I sleep with you and daddy?" the four, almost five, year old asked.

Tala let out a noticeable groan, earning a sharp jab in the ribcage from Amy's elbow.

"Is daddy okay?" Thea asked.

"It might be best if you didn't sleep with us tonight, baby," Amy said, "your father's not feeling well and I don't want you to catch anything."

"What about you, momma? Won't you get sick?" inquired Thea.

Amy shook her head, "Momma is immune to your father's sickness. Tell you what, you can take Nicol with you, okay? He'll protect you from your scary dreams."

Thea beamed at her mother, it was a rare treat that she would let Nicol sleep in the kids room. "Okay!" she agreed.

"Go on Nic, go with Thea," Amy ordered, jabbing Nicol with her foot to wake him up.

The old dog yawned, seemed to grumble a little, then hopped off the bed, following Thea out of the room.

Tala was back on Amy as soon as the door shut. "We really need to get a lock."

"I'll think about it," Amy murmured before Tala silenced her; kissing her hungrily.

* * *

"Hey, Dimka," Thea beckoned, shaking her brother.

"What?" Dimitri groggily asked.

"I think I know what making love means," Thea beamed.

"Really?" Dimitri snapped awake and sat up, eagerly awaiting the answer.

Thea nodded. "I think it's a game that they play."

"That involves kissing?" questioned Dimitri in disgust.

Thea nodded again, "Uh-huh. And the result of the game is that momma becomes immune to all of daddy's sicknesses because his love protects her!"

"Oh! I get it." Dimitri smiled at his sister. "How'd you figure that out?"

"I went into momma and daddy 's room and caught them at it. I don't know why they didn't just tell us."

"Maybe it's a secret game that's different for all mom's and dad's," Dimitri suggested.

"Maybe," Thea agreed as she climbed into bed.

"Night, Thea," Dimitri yawned.

"Night Dimka."

With their mystery 'solved', the twins slipped into an easy slumber.

* * *

blackamber- Little do they know... that they are completely wrong.

Amy- Not entirely... I mean for the 'illness' Tala did have...

blackamber- True... and I guess it COULD be considered a game

Amy- Well, there you go. The censored explanation of what making love is.

blackamber- Yes, well done little children (claps)

Tala- R&R


	16. Knew It

blackamber- I'm really sorry... I'm late AND this chapter starts off very slowly!

Amy- It could be worse

Sadie- Yeah, you could have not updated at all.

Thea- Umm... bwackamber doesn't own beyblade...

Dimitri- But she does own our mom and us

blackamber- Oh, a note! I realized that Thea and Dimitri didn't really sound like 4/5 year olds... so I attempted to make them sound like their age in this one... I apologize if it's horrible

* * *

Amy hummed gently as she tacked her black gelding, lifting the mahogany colored saddle onto the saddle pad. She settled it with a steady hands positioned on the saddle horn and the pommel. Keeping her left hand on Indy at all times, she walked around him, adjusting the leather cinch, and then moving back to her original position she fastened it.

"Mom, you sure you don't need hewlp?" Dimitri asked, watching her work with interest.

"I'm sure, besides, you're not tall enough to reach all the way up here," she smiled at him, patting the seat of the saddle.

"Can't I do _somefing_?" he asked, almost pleading.

"Alright, can you grab his breastplate and his bridle for me?"

Dimitri nodded excitedly running to get the tack.

Indy snorted, nudging his head into her.

"Yeah, I know," she murmured, "but it's not going to be long now until he'll be doing all this and riding you around town." She stroked his face gently, "Of course, you'll be older then and he won't be working you as hard as I do, but he'll be riding you all on his own."

The horse nudged her again, nickering.

"Don't worry," she mused, rubbing the spot on his face that he liked the most, "you'll always be my boy."

"I gots 'em mom!" Dimitri cheered, running up to her.

"Slow down kiddo, you can't run around horses, remember, you might spook them," Amy scolded.

"I know… but this is Indy, he doesn't get scarwed by _anyfing_," Dimitri countered, patting the horses' shoulder after handing the tack off to his mother.

Amy shook her head slowly, fastening the breastplate and then slipping the bit of the bridle into his mouth and sliding the bridle over his ears. "Hey, Dimka, do you want to ride him out of the stable? Show daddy how good of a rider you are?" Amy asked, winking at her son.

"YEAH!" Dimitri cheered excitedly.

Amy smiled, tightening Indy's cinch. "Okay," she said, lifting her son up into her arms and carrying him towards the horse's back. "Grab the saddle horn, okay Dimitri?"

"'Kay mom," Dimitri nodded, grasping it tightly with his two, small hands. Them together barely fit around the saddle horn.

She placed him gently in the saddle, "Tell me when you're settled and I'll lead Indy out, okay?"

Dimitri nodded shifting in the saddle; trying to get comfortable. "I'm weady," Dimitri grinned, eagerness shifting through his veins.

"O-kay," Amy smiled, clicking her tongue and getting Indy to walk forward a few steps. "You still okay by yourself up there?" she asked, stealing a glance behind her.

Dimitri had never thought he would be so high-up and hadn't noticed until Indy had started walking. He shakily nodded his head, hoping they'd get outside and his mom would join him soon.

"If you're sure. 'Cause you can always come down and then I can put you back up when we're outside," she tempted, noticing how much her son was shaking.

"I-I'm okay, momma."

Amy wanted to smile at her son, encouragingly, but he only ever called her momma when he was really scared. She stopped Indy, moving beside him. She lifted a hand up to him, brushing his hair lightly. "It's okay baby, if you want to come down. No one will think less of you," her voice was soothing.

Dimitri looked at her, his sapphire eyes a little wider than normal.

"Do you wanna come down?" she asked again, gently.

Dimitri nodded, reaching for her.

She hefted him out of the saddle, cradling him to her. "I know it's scary the first time by yourself," she whispered, kissing the top of his head, "I was scared the first time I rode a horse by myself."

"Weally?" her son asked, his voice muffled by her jacket.

"Yup," she nodded, "it was _very_ scary for me. So, that's why we're going to ride Indy together, right?"

Dimitri looked up at her and nodded, his excitement returning.

"And if he's going to fast for your comfort, just tell me and I'll slow him down."

"Okay," Dimitri agreed as his mother put him down. "Can I wead him outside?"

"Of course you can." She had often let Dimitri lead Indy around since she knew the horse would never do anything to hurt him. "Just remember what I told you about holding the reins."

"Yeah, I know. Wike an eight in one hand, and the other bewow the bit," Dimitri grinned at her, taking the reins just as she had showed him once. "Come on Indy," he said, leading the horse forward.

Tala grinned at his son as he led Indy to the entrance of the courtyard. "Did you tack that horse all by yourself, cowboy?" he asked, winking at Amy.

"Nope, mom did. But I helwped," he beamed, stroking Indy's head.

"Oh yeah, such a big help too. Pretty soon I'm going to be the one begging to help him tack," Amy teased, walking over to Tala and giving him a quick kiss. "We won't be gone long."

"I know, the kid doesn't have your stamina in the saddle yet," Tala said, and then added, "neither do I. Thea and I will just practice here. She's determined to beat her brother."

"Alright. Hey Thea, you show your daddy how fierce we Volkov girl's are in the bey-stadium," she winked at her daughter before strutting towards Dimitri and Indy.

"I will, momma!" Thea said with zeal, waving at her.

Amy picked her son up, placing him back in the saddle and waited for him to get settled. Once she was sure he was, she placed her left foot in the stirrup and hoisted herself into the saddle. Taking the reins in her left hand and wrapping her right arm protectively around her son, she sent Indy into a lazy walk out into the Russian streets.

Once they were a good distance away from the estate she asked, "Are you ready to go a bit faster?"

With his mother with him, Dimitri felt a lot braver in the saddle, almost relaxed even as though this wasn't the first time he was on a horse. He nodded, "Yeah, let's go fast!"

Amy grinned at his enthusiasm, "Alright, you want to go fast, then we'll go fast." She squeezed Indy's side, making a kissing sound with her lips and sent him into a steady lope. **(A/N: that's a canter for anyone who doesn't know western lingo)**

Dimtri gripped the saddle horn like his life depended on it, not expecting such a drastic change in gait.

"Too fast?" Amy asked, noticing how her son reacted.

Dimitri started laughing, "No, mom, this is gweat!"

"Alright then, shall we go faster?" she asked,

"There's a faster?" Dimitri looked at her in surprise.

"Oh, yes."

* * *

"Relax Thea, you're not going to beat your brother with your launch alone," Tala instructed.

"Sowwy, daddy," pouted Thea, picking up her blade.

Tala smiled gently at his daughter- his little girl whose striking eyes reminded him so much of her mother.

"Hey, daddy?"

"What is it?"

"Do you think Dimka and I will be gweat bey-shooters wike you and momma?" Thea launched her blade again, this time not as roughly.

"Perhaps, if you work at it." Tala made no promises, after all, being a good bey-shooter required people to give up almost everything, or at least the way he learned did. Heck, he didn't really know what hormones were until he had seen Amy again back in Australia when they had been partners for Duo Bey-shooting.

"I'll work weally hard at it then! You'll see, I'll be the best just wike you and momma!"

Tala chuckled at his daughter's enthusiasm, "You know, your mom and I weren't the best. Tyson Granger was the best."

"Momma and you could whip him any day," insisted Thea.

Tala shook his head, "Whatever you say, princess."

"Ne, daddy?"

Tala sighed, giving her a look that said 'I'm listening'.

"Why did you and momma not tell Dimitri what wove making was wast night?"

Tala paled, "W-Well… we…. That is… uhh… you see-

"It's not that difficult, is it? When I saw you, you wooked wike you were just pwaying a game. What were you sick with wast night? And how come momma is immoon? I told Dimka that it may be because your wove protects her, and that's what wove making does… but I wanna know more." Thea looked up at him with puppy-dog eyes.

"If your dad was sick last night, it was just with lust for your mom," Bryan joked walking into the courtyard.

"Wust?" Thea asked.

"_You_," Tala growled darkly rounding on his friend.

"What?" Bryan questioned, cowering slightly.

"Where do you get off teaching my four-year old children words like that, huh?" Tala demanded, "they're too young for that!"

"Hey, don't blame me!"

"Who am I _suppose_ to blame then!?"

"Look, I keep forgetting that they're little kids. I'm not used to using kiddie lingo alright."

Tala sighed, "Just don't say stuff like that around them, alright."

"Alright, I get it."

"Daddy? What's wust?" Thea asked.

"Ask your mother," was Tala's response.

"Hey, you think that was the right move… I mean what's Amy going to say when Thea walks up to her with a question like that, saying that 'Daddy' told her to ask you." Bryan grinned at the expression that crossed Tala's face as he groaned in frustration.

"Uncle Bwyan… where's Lissa?" Thea asked, noticing that the girl that was with Bryan the other day wasn't with him today.

Tala's expression changed as he grinned at his friend. "Don't tell me she dumped you already."

Bryan narrowed his eyes in annoyance, "She didn't dump me, alright! She has a family thing today."

"And she didn't invite you?"

"Shuddap," Bryan growled as Tala laughed at him.

"Hey, you know Kai's gonna be a father," Tala stated.

"No way? And he complains about you and Amy."

"Well, he didn't get his girl pregnant at seventeen mind you, but-"

"Bet Amy's excited," Bryan commented, interrupting Tala, "she kinda went… crazy when the twins were born eh?"

"She didn't go crazy, her personality just did a 180 on us," corrected Tala.

"And she's never reverted back," Bryan said thoughtfully, then caught Tala's glare and added, "not that it's a bad thing." He then chuckled lightly, "Oh, I can't wait till the mood-swings start with Kai."

Tala smirked, "They already have, his girl is five months in already. Amy found out 'cause he all but panicked at called her about it."

"I almost feel sorry for him," Bryan mused.

Tala nodded as he laughed lightly at Kai's fate, _I told you, you won't be laughing when you got a woman pregnant Kai._

* * *

"Easy, Indy," Amy murmured, bringing the gelding back to a light jog and then to a walk.

"That was _awesome_ mom!" Dimitri cheered, now sitting comfortably in the saddle, not gripping the horn as tightly as before.

"Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it." Amy leant down, kissing her son's head.

"Can we go fast again? Pwease!" begged Dimitri, taking one hand off the saddle horn and stroking what he could reach of Indy's neck.

Amy smiled at her son's eagerness. She kept Indy's pace slow in this area; with the snow covered streets and not near to the fields, it was quite possible that there was ice beneath the snow. "Wait till we reach the field near the old abbey, okay sweetie, then we'll go fast."

She listened to the slushy clops that sounded every time Indy took a step. He snorted, giving his jet black head a small toss; air from his nostrils rising into the bitter air. His head bobbed up and down and swayed lightly as he walked, the reins in a lose loop against his neck.

Amy's hand remained firmly around her son's waist, keeping him safe.

"Mom, how wong have you been widing?" Dimitri asked, looking up at his mother.

"Hmm… since I started living with the Carters' why?" Amy asked, as the sound of Indy's hooves turned from clops to a gently padding- signaling they had hit grass. She squeezed her legs gently against his side, pushing him back up into a lope.

"How wong was that?"

"Hmmm, about fourteen… maybe fifteen years," responded Amy.

"Wow," Dimitri gasped, "no wonder you're so good."

Amy giggled slightly, "There are plenty of riders out there who are better than me, Dimka."

"Nu-uh," Dimitri shook his head, "no one's better than you, mom."

Amy hugged her son against her, "Aww, thanks baby. Now, we should probably get back, your daddy might be wondering where we-" She froze at the turn off, stopping Indy suddenly. There it was again; the smoke from the abbey.

"Mom? What's wrong?"

Amy didn't respond, spurring Indy back into a lope towards the abbey.

"Momma?" Dimitri's voice was laced with worry.

"I just need to check something out," Amy told him, trying to hide the fear in her voice. She brought Indy back to a halt a couple of meters away from the abbey and dismounted.

"Momma, I don't wike this," Dimitri whimpered, "this pwace is scary."

"I know sweetie," murmured Amy, soothingly, "but I need you to stay here with Indy while I check this out, okay?"

Dimitri nodded slowly, his hands grasping the saddle horn in a death-grip once more.

Amy gave Indy a gentle pat. "Stand, boy," she ordered, moving towards the abbey cautiously. She slunk past the old gates, careful not to move them incase they were to creak and strode across the abandoned courtyard. She examined the old abbey, some of the walls crumbling due to neglect. The doors were battered and had definitely seen better days. The air around it was eerie and had a sense that almost seemed like the building itself was alive.

Strange sounds were coming from the interior, and she knew for a fact it was not caused by the building or acts of nature. One of the beaten doors was left ajar, the lock clearly broken. She slipped through the opening and nearly gagged at the musky smell that hit her upon entering the dank halls.

Water dripped from the pipes in an unsettling fashion and Amy couldn't help but wince as her footsteps echoed through the dark, empty halls. Her gaze flew upwards to the old surveillance cameras- now covered in cobwebs- the red light dim meaning that they weren't on. She continued on her given path, keeping both her eyes and ears alert.

A cold draft caused her to shiver slightly, or maybe it was a shudder from the memories that haunted these halls. Old and discarded beyblades lay scattered everywhere, some broken, some not. She stopped momentarily outside a room. There was no sound from the room, but it was always a room that made her freeze.

The screams that once occupied that room would make anyone freeze. The metal door was hanging by on hinge and opened without protest- minus the tiny squeak of that one rusty hinge. The walls were singed with soot the years past. The burnt smell was still heavy in the room on top of the pungent smell that covered the rest of the abbey. She rested one hand against one of the walls and immediately recoiled as though burned; a slim-like film sticking to her hand.

She wiped her hand off and exited the room, shaking her head slowly. Voices, male, began to drift towards her and she followed them like a woman possessed. The old saying 'curiosity killed the cat' traveled through her mind briefly, but she ignored it. She needed to know.

She paused outside of a room where the soft glow of a fire seeped out. Pressed against one of the double doors she listened to the conversation taking place within the room. However, because of the heavy doors, the voices were too muffled for her to actually make out what was being said, all she could determine was that there were two speakers.

She cursed mentally and moved to peek through the tiny crack between the two doors. Her eyes widened at what she saw. _I knew it,_ she thought, catching sight of the purple-haired, although it was starting to go grey now, abbey-master. However, who she saw next, the second speaker, really made her shake in fear. She moved away from the door, shaking her head and slumping against the far wall. _Not him too… not him…_

She was terrified now, for the other speaker was Cole's father. Not caring if she was heard anymore, she turned and ran back down the abandoned halls; past the scorched room and old beyblades. Running back out into the Russian snow and out of the courtyard. She only slowed down when Indy and her son came into view.

"Mom, what's wrong?" Dimitri noticing the expression on her face.

"Nothing," Amy responded, jumping into the saddle and turning Indy back in the direction they had initially come from. "We're going home," she stated, giving Indy an urgent kick, sending him into a gallop and bypassing a pedestrian walking along the old road.

* * *

The black haired man looked over his shoulder at the rider, recognizing the horse immediately. How could he not, after seeing it, riding along side it so many times. _So… Amy, this is where you disappeared too… _Cole thought with a dark smile. The child riding with her hadn't escaped his gaze and now a plan formed in his mind. _Oh, father will be _very_ pleased about this._

* * *

Amy spurred Indy into the front yard of the house, stopping only inches in front of Tala, Bryan and Thea.

Tala sensed the urgency coming from his wife as she jumped from the saddle. "What's wrong?"

"Bryan, can you please get Dimitri down and take him and Thea elsewhere?" Amy asked, trying to collect her thoughts.

Bryan sensed the urgency and did as she asked.

"Aim? "

"I saw more smoke from the abbey."

Tala sighed, "Amy, I told you he can't-

"He is!"

"Amy," Tala's voice was calm and gentle, "there's no way he could be-"

"I SAW HIM!" Amy shrieked.

Tala froze, "You… saw him?"

Amy nodded, "I went into the abbey… and I saw him."

Tala searched Amy's face, noticing immediately that that wasn't all she had to say. "Do you know what he was up to?"

"No, I couldn't here what he was saying," Amy turned away, shuddering at the thought of the other man.

"He was talking to someone?"

Amy nodded, not facing him.

"Who?"

"Cole's father," Amy mumbled, knowing full well that her voice was barely audible.

"What?"

"He was talking to… Cole's father," she repeated more clearly.

Tala said nothing in response but merely wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to his chest. "It'll be alright, I promise. He won't hurt you."

"I'm not worried about me," Amy stated, trembling.

"I swear, he'll have to kill me to get at the twins. I won't go down easy," he whispered, kissing her hair, "nothing will happen to them."

"I'd be more at ease if those two weren't here," Amy spat venomously.

"I know," Tala murmured to her, "but there's nothing we can do right now, so you'll just have to trust me."

Amy laughed lightly, "You know I do."

Tala captured her lips with her own and then moved to kiss her forehead. "пойдите внутри и нагрейтесь, любовь." (Go inside and get warmed up, love)

"I really wish you would speak to me in Russian," Amy smirked, backing up slightly.

"Oh? And why not?" Tala grinned.

"It _really_ turns me on." Amy winked, sauntering into the house. She felt a little better, but her fears were not quenched. She knew something was wrong.

* * *

blackamber- I really hope you all enjoyed this chapter... (oh and about the Russian... I don't actually speak or read it I just went to an online translator so the grammar of it is prolly not right)

Sadie- I kinda did

Amy- (eyebrow twitches in annoyance) You... brought _him_ back...

blackamber- Uh-oh... RUN AWAY!!!

Tala- R&R

* * *


	17. Cole

blackamber- So... jerk face is back...

Amy- What else is new?

blackamber- OH! I have exciting news that has nothing to do with the story!

Bryan- I'm going to have to announce this won't I?

blackamber- Yup ^_^

Bryan- (sigh) blackamber would like to tell whomever cares that her dog no longer has a droopy face... (blinks) Your dog had a droopy face?

blackamber- He had Horner's Syndrome which causes the eye to sink back into the head a bit and made it look like his face was drooping on one side... it happened in the summer... but it's all gone now XD... my momma called me to tell me that... though that means when I go home I can't call him "Droopy-face" no more... Oh well, you win some you lose some...

Amy- RIiight... usual disclaimer

* * *

"You're positive of what you saw?" Cole's father demanded, "you're sure she's here?"

"Not only am I sure, father, but she has a kid too," Cole smirked, "a little boy to be exact. I saw them riding that black gelding of hers."

Mr. Johnson smiled darkly, baring yellow teeth. His salt and peppered mustache hung beneath a round nose and brought out the features of his large cheeks. Had there been such a things as an evil Santa Clause, this man would be the perfect look alike. The four sausages of his left hand tapped against his wooden cane.

"This could be quite advantageous, Boris," he said, his nasally yet deep voice echoing off the walls.

"How so?" Boris asked, looking at the short, fat man with a scrutinizing gaze.

"Heh, well, you need new shooters. Young one's that you can brainwash, and I want revenge against that little bitch," Mr. Johnson stated, "we take her son, and we both win."

"Not too mention, I have a good guess as to who the father is, and, Mr. Balkov, I think you might find _that _very interesting," Cole tempted.

"Oh? And who is that?" The tall former abbey master looked at the twenty-two year old, black haired man.

"Tala Vokov."

Boris broke into a heavy laugh. "Tala? There is no way he is with a woman, let alone has children; he can't feel, none of the boys from this abbey can."

"Best check your data again, old man, for he and Ms. Hiwatari seemed quite cozy the last time I saw them," Cole growled.

Boris narrowed his eyes, "Erik, I suggest you teach your boy some proper respect before _I_ do." There was a pause of silence. "Did you say, Ms. Hiwatari? As in Amelia Hiwatari?"

Cole nodded, "The very same."

"You should have told me earlier," Boris grinned viciously, "I am always up to harming _any_ of the Hiwatari's… especially after the damage her brother did to some of our equipment."

"So we have a deal then?" Mr. Johnson asked, holding out his flabby hand to Boris.

Boris nodded, taking it in his own and giving it a firm shake, "Yes… we have a deal."

* * *

"You shoulda seen it dad! We were racing acwoss Wussia at top speed. I bet we coulda out wun a car!" Dimitri said excitedly, recounting his ride with his mother.

Tala smiled down at his son, "Yeah, I bet you could've."

Amy was curled up against Tala on the creamy colored couch in their "family room", Dimitri and Thea on the floor in front of them.

"Ne? Daddy you can wide too, can't you?" Thea asked, looking up at him with wonder.

"Well… kind of, yes," Tala responded, scratching the back of his head uneasily. His answer earned a snort from his dark grey haired friend, sitting at the other end of the couch.

"How come you don't have a horse too then?" Thea asked.

"Well… I… uhh…"

"Your father _can_ ride… he just doesn't like to as much as I do," Amy answered for him.

"Yeah, but think of how womantic it would be. Just you two widing side by side, thwough the snow, as the sun sets," Thea described, sighing dreamily.

Dimitri rolled his eyes and sighed, "Sisters…"

Tala and Amy, however, laughed at the idea. "Maybe one day," Tala said.

"Not likely," Bryan muttered.

"You say something Bryan?" Amy asked, glancing over at him with a dark look.

Bryan winced, remembering the ear-full she gave him about saying such things as "doing it" and "lust" in front of the twins. It was definitely more than Tala had said. His ear still kind of ached from her harsh words and raised tone.

"Nope… not a thing," Bryan responded, forcing a smile.

"Good," Amy smiled, as Thea climbed up onto the couch, positioning herself against her mother's stomach.

"Momma? How come you sounded weally scawed eawier? Did somefing happen?" Thea asked.

"Don't worry about it, sweet-pea," Amy murmured, pulling her daughter close and kissing her head, "everything's fine now."

"Why?" Thea asked her favorite question.

"'Cause your daddy made it all better." Amy smiled over at him, resting her head lightly on her daughter's.

Thea smiled brightly, tilting her head slightly so her mother could see her face. "Daddy makes _everyfing _better," she stated firmly.

"Alright, this is getting too much for me," Bryan declared, getting up from the couch, "I'll see ya later, bro."

Tala nodded at Bryan, "See you."

"Bye Uncle Bwyan!" Thea and Dimitri waved wildly.

"See ya, tykes," Bryan smirked at them, "bye Amy."

"Bye, take care," Amy smiled, giving a small wave of her hand.

"Hey, mom?" Dimitri looked up at her.

"What is it?"

"How come you and dad only have us? Don't you want more kids?" he asked.

Tala coughed uneasily, signaling that he _did_ _not_ want to get dragged into answering that question.

"YEAH! Why are we the only ones!?" Thea demanded.

Amy hugged the little girl tighter to her, "Because, you two are all we need right now, okay?"

"But why?" came, once again, Thea's favorite question.

"Because your father is lazy," Amy answered.

"What!?" Tala glared at her slightly.

Amy gave him a look that said, _you don't help with the questions, you suffer the consequences. _

Tala's glare turned into a playful smirk- which Thea caught and readily hopped off the couch, lest she be thrown. "I'm lazy, am I?" he asked, pinning her down.

Amy laughed, "Tala… don't…"

"Don't what?" He skimmed her most ticklish spot with his finger, earning a small laugh from her.

"Don't do that," Amy laughed, trying to get away.

Tala's grin broadened but he didn't let up, running his fingers along her ribcage- more specifically the right side- causing her to break down into a laughing fit.

"Stop it!" she squealed, trying to fight him off but failing.

"No… I don't think I will," Tala said indifferently, capturing her lips with his own.

"Ilth bish er togue," Amy threatened, her words muffled by his mouth.

Tala pulled back, "What?"

"I said, I'll bit your tongue," she repeated.

"I'd love to see you try," growled Tala, amusement dancing in his eyes as he kissed her again.

"Mom and dad are weird," Dimitri decided as Thea watched them with sparkling eyes.

Although she did still kind of found it gross, watching their parents kiss, she still had daydreams-like every girl- of the day when Prince Charming would come and whisk her away- like she imagined her father did with her mother.

Tala pulled back, resting his forehead against hers and letting his hands rest on her stomach.

Amy gave a content sigh, one because he had stopped tickling her, and two because she loved when he kissed her.

"So… I still have that effect on you?" he grinned cheekily, "I knew I was good but-"

"Stop being such a cocky bast-" she stopped, as if just remembering their kids were still in the room.

Tala seemed to have come to the same realization, for he- reluctantly- climbed off her,

Dimitri, taking the opportunity of them not kissing, jumped on his father. "Hey dad! Can we beybattle, pwease!" he begged.

"Dimka, your father is probably still recovering from his match with Thea this morning," Amy teased.

Tala took her words in stride, saying, "A quick one won't hurt." He rose from the couch, "C'mon tiger, let's see what you've got."

"YEAH!" Dimitri cheered, running to get his beyblade as Thea climbed back onto the couch.

"Daddy and Dimka are weally going to have a quick match, momma?" Thea asked.

"For guys, there is no such thing as a quick match. Which means it will probably be just the two of us until dinner." Amy smiled, lifting her daughter onto her lap.

"Hey, momma… what happened to Hein?" Thea asked, remembering her father mentioning her mother's bitbeast once.

"He's around. Watching us… protecting us," Amy said.

_As I always will… warrior._

Amy smiled into her daughter's hair.

"Umm… how'd you and daddy meet?" Thea asked.

"Oh, you don't want to hear about that," laughed Amy, the non-to-fond memories of her first meeting with the team formally known as the Demolition Boys still fresh in her mind.

"I do though," argued Thea, "pwease momma!"

Amy sighed in defeat, "The first time I met your father… I was about your age and living in that creepy old abbey."

"Why?"

"'Cause your uncle Kai and mine's grandfather- your great-grandfather- sent us there to train and become better bey-shooters."

"Was it wove at first sight?" asked Thea excitedly.

"Not exactly… we hated each other when we first met. It wasn't until I was fifteen and he was seventeen that we actually started to get along." Amy smiled at the memory of them swimming in Australia. They had gone back last year as a belated "honeymoon", leaving the twins in Brook's care. The one thing they made sure to reenact was swimming in the river… of course that time was a little more intimate than the first.

"Why'd you hate each ofer?"

"Your father wasn't the nicest to me when we were little."

"Why?"

Amy shrugged, "Boys can be quite childish when they're little and can be quite cruel."

"Why?"

Amy laughed, "Do you want to know how your father and I fell in love or do you just want to keep asking questions I can't possibly answer." She playfully, but gently, gave her daughter's pigtails a small tug.

"Sowwy momma, pwease tell me."

"Well, your father and I ended up getting pinned together as team-mates while I was teaching the Blitzkrieg Boys how to do a different style of bey-shooting. I was still a little sore from how they treated me when we were younger so I wasn't being very co-operative. Hein pointed this out and told me that if I ever wanted to get anywhere with them, I would have to put my past behind me. Your father stumbled upon Hein and I talking, and I suggested that we go swimming."

"Why?"

"Because it was very hot out and… I thought that perhaps if I tried to have fun, rather than scowl at them all the time, I might find it easier to deal with them. And I was right."

"You had fun with daddy?"

"It was the most fun I had for quite some time." Amy winked at her daughter.

* * *

"Alright, dad, you weady!?" Dimitri demanded, reading his launch.

Tala smiled and fed his ripcord into his shooter. "Whenever you are, kiddo."

Dimitri smiled, tearing the ripcord out of his shooter.

Tala nodded approvingly, launching his Wolborg, "Nice launch."

"I've been pwacticing," Dimitri beamed as his blade circled his father's.

"I can see that," Tala smiled, "how often?"

"As much as I can. Uncle Bwyan and auntie Sadie helwp me." Dimitri grinned at his father's approval- after all, all sons love to hear their father's praise. "Hey dad… why'd mom stop bwading?"

"Because she wanted to spend more time with you and Thea. She didn't think both of us needed to keep bey-shooting," Tala explained.

"Weally? 'Cause auntie Sadie told me she stopped befwore we were born," Dimitri stated.

"I've never asked why she stopped then… she did pick it up again briefly when she was training Sadie, but I never thought to ask." It was partially true, Tala never had asked why Amy quit bey-shooting… but he had a good guess. Amy was a trained Duo-beyblading champion, it was what she was good at… and after her last battle with Cole… where he almost lost her… she was scared to beybattle. Or at least, that was _his_ theory.

"Hey dad… what would you do if I beat ya?" Dimitri asked.

"Who says you'll beat me?" countered Tala, "let's go Wolborg!"

"Come on! Take him down!" ordered Dimitri.

* * *

"Ne… momma? Can we go out?" Thea asked.

"Where do you want to go?" Amy asked, standing up with her daughter still in her arms.

"The pawk!" Thea cheered, clinging to her mother, "I wanna watch all the beybwaders!"

"Okay," Amy smiled, bouncing her daughter slightly, "the 'pawk' it is." She whistled for Nicol to come to her and then placed Thea on the ground- helping her with her jacket, boots etc.

"Heading out," Tala called as he heard the front door slam shut; his Wolborg easily holding off his son's blade.

"We're going to the pawk!" Thea yelled excitedly, racing over to her father.

"Really? Well, you have fun then princess," he winked, pulling her hat over her eyes.

Thea giggled, fixing her hat and running towards the gate at the end of the lawn with Nicol right beside her.

"Don't go to far," Amy called warily after her, then looked down at the dish. "And you go easy on him," she whispered to Tala.

"I know," he rolled his eyes, "but that doesn't mean I'm letting him win."

"You do nothing for their confidence," Amy teased.

"That's why they have you."

"I'll see you at dinner." Amy waltzed towards where her daughter- and dog- waited impatiently.

* * *

"Wow momma, wook at that one!" Thea pointed excitedly at the nearest match, "they're good!"

"You know someday, there's gonna be a little kid saying the same thing while watching you," Amy giggled.

"I know," Thea smiled, watching in awe.

The wind picked up briefly, sending shivers down Amy's back and all at once, Nicol began to let out a threatening growl, one she had not heard for some years now.

"What is it Nic?" she asked, bending down to his level. The husky's ears were flat against his skull as he bared his fangs. "Thea come over here!" beckoned Amy.

"What's wrong, momma?" Thea asked, hearing the wary tone in her mother's voice.

"I'm not sure yet," Amy answered uneasily.

"Well, well, well," a dark voice sneered, "if it isn't Amy Hiwatari."

Amy spun towards the speaker, grabbing Nicol's collar firmly should the dog leap to attack the man. "Cole," she snarled.

"Here I was hoping for a more welcoming greeting after it's been, what? Seven years since we've last seen one another?" Cole asked, a malicious grin on his face.

"I'd rather it be longer," Amy spat.

"Momma?" Thea clung to her mother's pant leg, sensing her mother's distaste for the man before them and getting scared by it.

"Another one Amy? What happened to the little boy?" Cole stared at the little girl, catching sight of the red hair beneath her hat, and, of course, there was no missing the silver-grey eyes that seemed to run on the Hiwatari side. "I take it your _not_ Hiwatari anymore."

"Good guess," growled Amy, pulling Nicol back as he tried to lunge.

"I see your mutt still remembers me." Cole's blue eyes narrowed at the old husky as a vicious snarl ripped from his throat.

"You should be flattered, he normally forgets scumbags." Amy moved one hand protectively towards her daughter. "What do you want?"

"Nothing in particular, just thought I'd say hi," he smirked, taking two broad steps towards her. He would have gotten closer if Amy hadn't- purposely- let go of Nicol's collar. Had the husky not been on a leash as well, the dark haired man would have found himself fending off fangs and claws, however, Amy had tightened her hold on his leash, stopping him mere centimeters before Cole.

"Then you can leave," Amy warned.

Cole smirked, "I see. Well, give my best to your husband. And I look forward to seeing you again, Amy." Turning on his heels, Cole sauntered off and out of the park.

"Momma?" Thea looked up at her mother, tugging on her pant leg to get her attention. "We can go home if you want."

"It's alright, sweet-pea… I'm fine." Amy forced a smile down at her daughter, leading her back towards the beybattles.

* * *

That night, Amy found herself lying awake. Tala was passed out beside her, his bare chest very inviting in means of comfort. She didn't move towards him, not want to wake him when he had an early start the next day. She rolled onto her back, then onto her right side- facing her husband once more- then back onto her back, and finally onto her left side.

"You're going to fall off if you keep moving like that," Tala teased groggily.

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to wake you," Amy apologized, turning back to him.

Tala opened one eye and looked at her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing… I'm just a little restless that's all."

"You sure?"

Amy slid over to him, allowing him to drape his arm around her. "Yes I'm sure." She snuggled up against his chest, hoping it would help ease her worries. It didn't though. And with Tala back asleep, she couldn't start moving around again. She lay there against him, pondering over what Cole had said…

_I look forward to seeing you again, Amy…_

What had he meant by that… he had said like he was betting that she'd come to him willingly. _Yeah, like that would ever happen_, she thought.

_Something's not right, warrior,_ Hein growled in her mind.

_You think so too?_

_I'd keep a wary eye next time you leave the house._

_Don't I always?_ Although Amy would not admit it, she wished her brother was here. His overprotective nature would be greatly welcomed with Cole being back in town and all.

_You do have someone who would protect you with his life right here, warrior,_ Hein stated.

_I know you would, but-_

Hein laughed, _I hope you're not being serious or else your husband would be greatly insulted._

_Tala's a given, but Kai's my brother… and frankly if Kai can scare Tala he is certainly a little more comforting to have around,_ Amy joked.

_You just miss your brother,_ the wolf panted.

_Maybe…_ Amy yawned.

_Get some rest, warrior, tomorrow is fast approaching._

* * *

"Momma? Where's daddy?" Thea asked as Amy knelt beside the tub, washing her daughter's hair.

"He is training today," Amy responded, "so we're gonna go on a walk."

"But it's freezing outside, mom," Dimitri called from outside the bathroom.

"That's why you bundle up," Amy called back, rinsing Thea's sudsy hair.

"Mom! I can't find my shirt!" Dimitri called some minutes later.

Amy sighed, "Then take out a clean one from your drawer!"

"But I wanna wear my BBA shirt!"

Amy rolled her eyes as Thea giggled, squeezing conditioner into her hand and running it through the red locks of Thea's hair. "Did you check your closet?"

"Yes! It's not there!"

"Give me ten minutes and I'll help you find it."

There was silence for about two minutes until Dimitri called back, "Never mind! I found it! It _was_ in my closet!"

Amy shook her head, helping Thea out of the tub. Grabbing a spare towel she ran it over Thea's hair trying to take some of the dampness out. "Go get dressed and I'll blow-dry your hair, okay?"

"'Kay momma!" Thea grinned, running into her room with the other towel wrapped firmly around her.

"Dimitri, you almost dressed?" Amy asked, walking down the hall.

"Done mom!" Dimitri stated, exiting the bedroom as Thea entered. He wore his black BBA t-shirt with pride.

"You're going to need a sweater, kiddo," Amy stated.

"But then no one will see the shirt," Dimitri argued.

"No one will see it anyway 'cause you're going to be wearing a jacket," countered Amy, "you're not going outside in just a t-shirt."

Dimitri pouted slightly, "Fine…"

* * *

"Oooo, Momma! Wook at the twees! They wook wike cwystals! Wike fwom a Faiwy Kingdom!" Thea awed at the ice covered wilderness.

"They do don't they?" Amy agreed, holding her daughter's hand.

"Do you think we'll see any wild aminals?" Dimitri asked, looking around with interest.

"It's An-i-mals… and maybe," Amy snickered at her son's pronunciation. **(A/N: I used to call animals aminals when I was younger…hehe)**

"Wike what? Wolves? Snow Weopards? OOO maybe bears!?" Dimitri looked up his mother with wonder in his eyes.

"We'll see," Amy smiled, fixing his hat.

"So we meet again," growled a horribly familiar voice.

Amy froze spinning so that her silver-grey eyes met the ice-blue ones of Cole. "Are you stalking me now?"

"Not exactly," Cole smirked, walking towards her, "just distracting you."

"Wha-" Amy didn't get to finish her question when something hard came in contact with the back of her head. Her vision swam and she felt herself sinking to the floor.

The last thing she heard was one of the twins, she wasn't sure which one… maybe both, scream: "MOMMA," before it all went black.

* * *

blackamber- :O OH NO!

Tala- WHAT THE HELL!?

blackamber- WAHH! (hides under a blanket)

Sadie- Aww... noooooooo (cries)

blackamber- (from blanket hide-out) I'm bringing the Silver Fangs back in... 'cause I miss them...

Bryan- Tala's too busy fuming right now so... R&R


	18. Contacts

blackamber- O_O long chapter...

Sadie- Sooo sad! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS!?

blackamber- *sniff* it's for the sake... of the story (hugs twins) I'M SORRY!!!

Thea- (blinks)

Dimitri- (frantic) MOM! HELP THE CRAZY LADY IS CRUSHING US!!!

Amy- (sigh) usual disclaimer

* * *

"_How's she doing?" _voices faded in and out of her mind. She could hear them, but couldn't respond.

"_She seems fine… though hitting her head has done some damage. I'd try to keep her from moving as much as possible," _it was a stranger's voice who came in now.

She felt pressure on her hand as another familiar voice scoffed, _"Heh, the day she follows a doctors orders is the day- ow!" _

Footsteps signaled the strangers exit, but she still could not open her eyes.

"_It's not like her to just pass out like that,"_ a female's voice came from somewhere in the direction of the other familiar voice.

"_Hey… Tala you gonna be okay?"_ said voice asked.

"_Any word from Spencer or Ian?" _Tala's voice asked, refusing to answer the question.

His words were met with silence, and Amy imagined that it was because the other familiar voice had either shaken his head or nodded.

"Ta-la?" she croaked out, her throat feeling like a desert. Her eyes seemed reluctant to open but she felt more pressure on her hand, meaning that he was probably squeezing it.

"Yeah, I'm here Aim," his voice was anxious and laced with worry. She felt something against her head, and a stroking motion followed. "I'm here," he repeated a little softer.

"What happened?" she asked, forcing her eyes to open. The room swam before her and appeared, at first, to just be a mirage of colors. No shapes, just color. As though an angry artist had just flung paint everywhere. "All I remember was taking the twins out and then…"

"You passed out, Amy," Lissa's gentle voice came, "I found you and called Bryan, knowing that he'd be with Tala or at least could contact him if he wasn't."

"Where are the twins?" Amy asked.

No one responded, and since her vision hadn't cleared yet, Amy couldn't make out the expressions on their faces.

"Tala," her voice turned pleading, "where are they?"

Tala pressed his forehead against hers, gripping her hand as though if he let go he'd be swept away by some unknown force. "I don't know," he choked out, "we don't know. I asked Spencer and Ian to look around for them but-"

Amy began to tremble. "No…" she gasped.

"Amy, I'm really sorry," Bryan said as though he thought it would make it better.

Amy began to sob uncontrollably, how could she let something like this happen?

"We'll find them I promise," he whispered painfully.

Amy stiffened, remembering something else… a minor- or major rather- detail she had completely forgotten.

"_So we meet again," growled a horribly familiar voice._

_Amy froze spinning so that her silver-grey eyes met the ice-blue ones of Cole. "Are you stalking me now?"_

"_Not exactly," Cole smirked, walking towards her, "just distracting you."_

"_Wha-" Amy didn't get to finish her question when something hard came in contact with the back of her head. Her vision swam and she felt herself sinking to the floor._

_The last thing she heard was one of the twins, she wasn't sure which one… maybe both, scream: "MOMMA," before it all went black._

"Cole…" she growled darkly.

Tala looked at her in concern. "What do you mean Cole?"

"He was talking to me before I blacked out… he has something to do with it…" she said. Her eyes suddenly grew wide, "Oh my god… Tala! Boris has them!" She was hysterical, the thought of the twins… no… of her babies in the abbey. "I was so careless… how could I have let him take them from me? I should have realized something was wrong the moment he appeared."

Tala shushed her, hugging her tightly. "It's going to be okay… I'm going to get them back, alright?"

"I'm going with you," Amy stated, trying to stand up. She figured, since she could finally something besides just color, she was well enough to stand.

Tala, however, had other plans, and gently pushed her back down. "You need to relax, you hit your… your head was hit really hard."

"Tala I want to-"

"I know… right now you need to worry for your health. I'll get them back you'll see," Tala tried to smile at her, standing up he turned towards Bryan.

"I'm right behind you, bro," Bryan stated.

"Don't worry about Amy," Lissa smiled at Tala, "I'll watch over her."

The door burst open, admitting a frazzled Sadie. "I just got the message! Is everything alright!? Do you need me to get anything or call anyone? Do you need me to call the police? To beat someone up? Just tell me what to do and I'll do it!"

"Sadie, stay with Lissa and Amy," Tala ordered, marching past her.

"Right!" Sadie gave a mock salute, waiting for the door to close before springing into action. "Okay! This calls for a tub of ice cream and talking to your best buds from across the globe!"

"Sadie! This is _not_ a break-up! My children were kidnapped!" Amy shrieked.

"So… we need two tubs of ice cream?"

"Sadie," Lissa said gently, "why not call her friends, or even her brother, that might help." She then turned back to crying woman. "It'll be okay… you'll see."

* * *

"That man is going to wish he was never born when I'm through with him," Tala snarled viciously as soon as Bryan had closed the door behind them.

"You want me to call Spencer and Ian, tell them where we're headed?" Bryan asked.

"If you think it'll help," Tala said, only half listening. His mind was raging and all he really wanted to do was grab Cole by the collar and beat him senseless, and that was civil compared to what he wanted to do with Boris.

"What about Kai? Should I call Kai?" Bryan asked.

"What can he do? He is in Japan!?" Tala snapped.

"Yeah, but I think he'd want to know about something like this," stated Bryan.

"Just call Spencer and Ian."

"Right!"

* * *

"_You know what… I'm booking the next flight over there!"_ Brook yelled into the phone.

"Brook you don't have to…" Amy sniffed, now in a sitting position with the help of Sadie and Lissa.

"_Hell ya we do! That ass is going to pay for this!"_ Courtney exclaimed. Sometimes, having three-way calling was a pain in the ass. _"I'll call Mel and Kaylie- no one does something like this to our team-mate and gets away with it."_

Amy laughed lightly through her tears, "We aren't exactly a team anymore, Court."

"_No matter how long it's been since we last bey-battled together, we will always be a team,"_ Brook stated, the noise on the other end suggesting that she was packing.

"You guys-"

"_Are amazing? Guilty as charged,"_ Courtney grinned into the phone.

"_Don't worry Aim, we'll be there if not tomorrow then the next morning,"_ Brook promised.

"_And if those kiddies aren't back, all hell will be let lose! Boris, Cole, and that pop-n'-fresh wannabe will be lucky if they can move once I'm done with them!"_

"Court… can you please stop yelling into the phone, you're going to wake my boyfriend," Brook begged.

"_OOOOoooo, what have _you_ been doing?"_

This time Amy couldn't help but laugh loudly. Especially when Brook countered with, _"I'm insulted! Unlike _some people_ I save sex for marriage!"_

"_And that's why you're no fun. We girls really know how to party, right Aim?"_

"You said it," Amy agreed, starting to feel a little nostalgic while speaking with her old team-mates and friends.

"_Well, I'm sure you have better things to do than talk Ms. Party-girl and I,"_ Brook said, _"and Amy, take care of yourself."_

"You to Brook… and thanks," Amy half-smiled into the phone.

"_Oh sure, say thank-you to _her_ but not _me_?" Courtney fake sobbed._

"Your thank-you was implied, you lunatic."

Courtney gasped into the phone._ "That's it! DISHONOR! Dishonor on you! Dishonor on your dog! Dishonor-"_

"Okay, Courtney, I'm hanging up now," Amy stated.

"_Bye, Amy," _Brook called over Courtney who was still ranting about dishonor.

Amy hung up the cordless, handing it to Sadie and leaning back against the couch. As soon as their voices faded, the pain came back with a vengeance. _Oh Thea… Dimitri… I'm so sorry… _

"Did that help at all?" Lissa asked, kindly.

Amy bit her lower lip and admitted, "For a little bit… but I just…"

"I know… Sadie… why don't you call her brother," Lissa suggested.

Sadie nodded, flipping through the pages until she came upon Kai's number. "Umm… there are three different numbers here? Which one should I call?"

"Try the one labeled home… if he doesn't answer try his cell," Amy instructed.

"And if there is still no answer… do I try the office then?"

"I only call that one if it's an emergency," Amy stated, hugging the pillow to her as if it would take away all her pain.

"Okay, so I do try the office then," Sadie muttered to herself, dialing the numbers in the book. The phone rang twice when a woman answered it. "Hi, is Kai there?" she asked.

"_I'm sorry, no he's not. Is there something I can help you with?"_ the woman asked.

"Oh, you must be Kai's girlfriend," Sadie said excitedly.

"Sadie… is she getting Kai?" Lissa asked.

"_That's right, and who are you?" _the woman asked.

"No, he's not home," she answered putting her hand over the speaker. She then proceeded to talk into the phone, "I'm Sadie, a friend of Amy's… I'm calling on her behalf."

"Sadie…" Amy growled.

"_Oh… is everything alright?"_

"Not really no."

"_Oh what happened?"_

"Well you see- HEY!" Amy snatched the phone away from Sadie.

"Hi, Miya," Amy breathed into the phone.

"_Amy! Are you alright? Your friend said that something was wrong?"_ Miya spoke quickly, concern dripping from each word.

"I understand your worry, Miya, but I really need to talk to my brother so if you could-"

"_Of course! He should be on his way home by now… you could try his cell, if he doesn't answer just call back here in ten, maybe fifteen, minutes, okay?" _Miya offered.

"Thanks Miya, bye."

"_Bye, Amy! Hope everything works out!" _

* * *

Miya hung up the house phone just as the door to the Hiwatari estate opened. "Oh, Kai! You just missed your sister! Is your cell on? She's going to try calling it!"

Kai sighed, _I'm barely home for five seconds and…_ "Did you say Amy called?" The siblings may be closer now than they ever had been, but that didn't mean they called each other regularly, if she had called the main house and was actually going to try him at a different number, something must have happened.

"Yup, it sounded pretty urgent whatever it was."

_I'll kill him if she's pregnant again,_ Kai thought darkly as his cell went off. "Hey Aim," he answered.

"_Now that's just creepy,"_ Amy responded, though she was hiding it, Kai could hear that she had been crying about something.

"Miya told me you'd be calling, what's wrong?"

There was a pause of silence.

_He did… she's going through mood swings and is now crying to me… that's great. As if handling _one_ pregnant woman isn't hard enough. Tala I'm going to murder you._

"_Kai… it's the twins…"_

Kai froze, _Okay… maybe not…_ "What happened? Are they okay?"

The sound of Amy fighting tears on the other end made his blood run cold. All the possibilities of what could have happened to them went through his mind. Deathly ill, had gotten into a car accident, hospitalized in some way, or even, dead.

"_Boris… has them,"_ Amy forced the words out of her mouth.

Boris hadn't been a possible threat since the Australian Tournament. And now… now he just waltzes into the picture and kidnaps _his_ niece and nephew… If there was such a thing as a breaking point for Kai, he had reached it.

"_Tala's gone to get them back,"_ Amy continued sensing that her brother's thoughts were going along the same track as her friend's.

"If anything goes wrong, just call me alright?" he sighed into the phone.

"_I will," _Amy promised, _"thanks Kai."_

Kai let out a heavy sigh as his sister hung up.

"What's wrong?"

"The twins are missing," he stated, clenching his fist tightly.

"Oh my god," Miya gasped, "I can't imagine how that…" She grazed her stomach with her hand.

Had Kai been a different person, he would have moved to comfort her or at least offer her some reassuring words; he wasn't though, which meant he kept his mouth shut.

Miya didn't mind this, she was used to his attitude. Besides, he had his own way of showing that he cared and though it may not consist of showering her with loving words, warm embraces or abundances of gifts, she'd love him anyway. Which was probably why she savored those rare moments when he would drop his stoic behavior and do one of those three.

"Are you going to help her?" she asked.

Kai shook his head, "She doesn't want my help right now."

"Kai! She's your sister! What are you waiting for her to ask you to help her!?" demanded Miya.

"Tala's handling it," Kai shot back, "if she needed me there she would've-"

"Do you honestly think she called you just to tell you the twins were missing? Kai, she wants you there!"

Kai pressed his thumb and index finger into the bridge of his nose. Tala had no idea how lucky he was to have missed out on the first five months of Amy's pregnancy. "She'll call me if some goes wrong, and if that's the case I will go."

"So, you'll only go if she actually voices the words, 'we need your help'? She shouldn't have to ask you! You should instinctively go!" shrieked the expecting woman.

"Miya…"

"I'm going to pack your suitcase, you find the next flight over!"

"Who's going to take care of you?"

"I'll call your sister's doctor friend, she's married to an expert on expectant mothers," Miya stated firmly, "Amy recommended me to her when she first moved here."

"Claire? You should know she's crazy."

"I think I can handle it, now go book your flight!"

* * *

"Just you wait! My momma and daddy are gonna come and kick your butt!" Thea yelled, struggling in the dark haired man's grasp.

"Stop squirming you little brat," Cole hissed, trying to get a better grip.

"NO!" Thea snapped, biting his hand.

"OW! Why you little!" Cole snarled, striking her with his hand.

"GET AWAY FWOM MY SISTER!" howled Dimitri trying to lunge at Cole, but was held back by another man.

"Having a bit of trouble, Cole?" Boris mused, entering the large indoor arena located in the depths of the abbey's labyrinth.

"Nothing I can't handle," growled Cole, as Thea nursed her sore cheek, trying her very hardest not to cry.

_I gotta be strong… for momma and daddy,_ she thought determinedly.

"Lock the girl up, we'll break the boy first," Erik ordered, waddling in and standing beside Boris.

"Whatever you say, father," Cole grinned darkly, grabbing Thea's arm non-too-gently.

"My dad'll make you pay for this," rumbled Dimitri, glaring daggers at Boris and the fat man.

"Oh, I am sure your _daddy_ will come," sneered Boris, "but I doubt he'll be able to do anything."

"That's what you think! My dad's the stwongest beyblader awound! He'll beat you to a puwp!" yelled Dimitri, vehemently.

"It's too bad then," snickered Erik, "that we aren't going to meet him with beyblades." He turned to the guards standing around the rim of the "arena". "Go meet this boys… daddy… show him the same hospitality that his wife knows all too well."

A devilish smirk passed between the guards as most of them stalked out of the room.

"You know my mom?" Dimitri asked uneasily.

"Of course boy… who do you think gave her most of the scars she carries?" leered Erik.

Dimitri narrowed his eyes, "I'll kill you for hurting my momma!" He charged at the overweight man.

"Oh my, now this seems familiar, doesn't it Gil?" Erik grinned, nodding to a man with a lasso in his hand.

With a single toss, the rope found itself around the boy's neck, bringing him to the ground as he struggled to breathe.

"Oh yes, sir, very familiar," scorned the man named Gil, "like mother like son eh?"

Erik chuckled darkly, "Let's hope he's easier to break than his blasted mother." He turned to walk out of the room, pausing only a moment to address the remainder of the guards. "I want him to be alive, but I don't want him to be able to move without feeling immense pain. Am I clear?"

"Yes sir!" the guards saluted, grinning like a pack of ravenous hyenas.

* * *

Spencer hooked his arms beneath Tala's armpits, holding him back. "Calm down, Tala," he ordered.

"Calm down! That bastard has my kids and you tell me to calm down!" the red-haired man was now brandishing the start of a black-eye.

Before the four men was at least a dozen older men, all buff and all carrying guns. Tala recognized a few from the fort some seven years ago.

"Doesn't even come out to face you himself," scoffed Bryan, "despicable." He wore a fat-lip and a couple of other bruises.

The other two faired no better, and it was only Spencer who seemed in his right mind- or at least enough to realize that trying to fight their way in was futile. "We can't face them on our own, we need help."

Tala knew he was right, but how could he face _her_ after promising he'd get them back.

"You should listen to your friend, Tala," a familiar voice laughed, "rescuing your brats is hopeless." Cole walked out to the front of the guard, looking quite proud of himself.

Tala let out a sound that was very much like a wolf's snarl and broke free of Spencer's hold; lunging at the younger man with killer intent. His fist sent the black haired man crashing to the frozen earth, but it also set the guards back on him. Like a pack of trained attack dogs, they charged at him to protect their master's son- who was cowering in fear from the blow.

Instinct took hold of the three other men, springing at the guards to help their teammate, friend and captain. Blows were exchanged, but it was the four younger men who were sent home, limping.

"Look on the bright side, bro," Bryan winced as his jaw was sore from a blow he took, "she can't possibly get mad at you after seeing you like this."

There was no response from his friend.

"Come on, Tala, you did your best," Ian said, looking up at the red-head.

"And it wasn't enough," growled Tala, clenching his fist. "What good am I if I can't even protect them!"

"We'll get them back, Tala," Spencer stated- with his overall size and own buff nature he was the least bruised and battered of the group- "we just can't do it alone."

"Yeah, we'll give Kai a call, maybe some of the other teams- it'll work out you'll see," Bryan grinned, opening the door to his friend's house.

Tala gave him a look stating that he wasn't in the mood to be cheered up.

Lissa came to greet them as they walked in, "Oh my… what happened!?" Her tone was frantic but her voice was barely above a whisper.

"Where's Amy?" Tala asked.

"She slipped out of consciousness after talking with her brother… oh, I should warn you her old teammates are coming," Lissa said; she didn't have to ask if they were successful, the state they were in said enough.

"Great, we need man-power and we get a bunch of chicks," Ian said sarcastically.

"Actually… this may work to our advantage," Tala mused, grabbing the other cordless phone while passing the kitchen.

"Having a bunch of girls here is advantageous?" Ian asked.

"Think of who they're linked with," Bryan said, realizing what Tala was getting at.

"Ah, I see," Spencer smirked, "we ask the girls to drag their brothers and possibly their brothers teams down here with them."

Tala just nodded, finding Brook's number easily enough; he'd let her call the others and explain the situation.

"_Wow… twice in one night Aim, what's-"_

"Brook," Tala spoke easily into the phone.

"_Tala? O-kay… this is new,"_ Brook stated, _"what's up?"_

"I need you to do something for me."

"_This is about the twins, isn't it?"_

Tala winced at the reminder of his failure. "Yes…" he answered a painful three minutes later.

"_What do you need me to do?"_

"I need you to talk to your cousin… ask him if he'd be willing to-"

"_I get it… I can wake Lee up and ask him to pass the word on to Ray… I don't really like walking in on my cousin when he's with Mariah."_

Tala was confused for a moment there, last time Amy had talked to him about her friend's lives now, she had mentioned that Brook was with some guy named Rin. Yet here, Brook suggested that she may be in the _same_ room as Lee while he was sleeping. He gave his head a small shake; maybe he was just looking to far into this.

"_Tala?"_ Brook's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, _"Lee's all for it, you want me to pass on the word to the others to bring help?"_

"If it's not too much trouble."

"_It's never too much trouble,"_ Brook smiled on her end, _"Amy would do the same thing for us if we were in your guys position. We'll see you sometime in the next two days."_

"Right," Tala said, hanging.

"So… now all that's left is to call the big brother, huh?" Bryan said, sitting down at the kitchen table as Lissa fawned over his injuries.

Tala gave a small nod, dialing Kai's home number. He wasn't surprised when Miya picked up, the only Kai willingly answered was his cell. "Is Kai there?" he asked, not bothering to say hello to her.

"_He is, but he's a little preoccupied,"_ Miya stated, _"you'll be able to talk to him soon though. After Amy called earlier I took it upon myself to force him to fly over."_

The thought of Kai being forced to do _anything_ by a woman almost made Tala laugh- he actually would have had he not remembered that pregnant woman were _very_ terrifying.

"_I'll tell him you called though,"_ Miya said brightly.

"Thanks, see ya around." Tala hung up with a sigh, "Apparently he already 'planned' on coming."

Bryan looked at him in confusion, "What do you mean, 'planned'?" He used his fingers to put air quotation marks around the word.

"MIya," he stated simply, earning a snigger from his friend.

"She's got him whipped, huh?"

"You say that now, but just wait till _you're _dealing with a pregnant woman," Tala smirked, placing the phone back in its receiver and walking to where Amy was passed out on the couch. "You can go Sadie."

"You sure you don't need me for anything else?" the fifteen year old asked cautiously.

He nodded, "I can… take care of her myself." He brushed her hairline gently, not trying to wake her. He could see the tracks left by her tears on her cheeks. He hated seeing her cry and yet, because he failed to do what he- as the father- was supposed to do, he'd have to watch her break again.

She groaned in her sleep, opening her eyes. Catching the sapphire blue ones of her husband. "Tala? Are they-" she froze, catching sight of the bruise. "What happened?"

He turned his gaze from her, "I'm sorry, Aim…"

"You're sorry for getting hurt? Why?"

"I couldn't… he still has them."

Hearing those words were like having her children snatched from her all over again; as if she had them back in her arms for a minute and then watched them being taken with her being restrained. Her whole body shook. Part of her wanted to blame Tala for not being able to bring them back, like he promised, but seeing his state… she couldn't.

He had gotten injured trying to get them back; it wouldn't be fair to yell at him for failing. Instead, she slumped against him, crying into his shoulder. He wrapped a comforting arm around her, letting her cry to her hearts content. It was good that one of them could cry. 'Cause no matter how hard he wanted to… or how much he beat himself up over what happened… Boris made sure that none of his boys would ever cry.

It made him seem heartless, but he wasn't. He just- physically- unable to cry, so all he could do was comfort her and send silent curses to the bastard in that damned abbey.

* * *

"Dimka! Are you okay?" Thea demanded as her brother was dragged into her cell.

Her brother didn't respond, his face bruised and bloody. His breathing was labored as he lay on his side, barely moving.

Thea crawled over to him, cradling her brother's head. _Dimka… _She heard the guards speaking on the other side of the door.

"He's a tough little bastard," one of them scoffed.

"What did you expect? He's _her_ kid," the other stated.

"Yeah, but he's just a little brat."

"Will break him tomorrow… have him begging us to stop, you'll see."

Thea hugged her brother tighter, _You will not break us… momma and daddy will come and they'll make you regwet being mean to us._

* * *

blackamber- That's right Thea! Keep believing in them!

Amy- I swear to god if something else happens to them I'll-

Tala- (cracks knuckles with a dark gleam in his eyes)

blackamber- WAHHHHH!! (runs away)

Bryan- r&r


	19. Beginning to Gather

blackamber- What evil things will I do in this chapter

Amy- For your sake, I hope nothing...

blackamber- Bu-but I need to or else the story won't progress and you'll never get your children back!

Amy- Good point... just don't make it too bad...

blackamber- (sigh) Fine

Bryan- blackamber would like people to know that she doesn't really like doing this to the twins either... she loves kids and it hurts her every time she has to do something to them...

blackamber- I also hate Cole, Boris, and the Pop-n'-fresh wanna be with a passion (if you guys are confused by what I mean by Pop-n'-fresh... it's basically like the Pillsbury Dough-boy)

Mel- Usual disclaimer

* * *

"_Momma!"_

Amy snapped awake, her breathing uneven. She stole a quick glance towards her still sleeping husband. He looked so peaceful, so relaxed; maybe it was all a dream. She untangled herself from Tala's hold, being careful not to wake him, and traveled towards the twins' room. She was met with disappointment as her silver grey eyes scanned the room. She sank down onto Thea's bed, looking at her worn, stuffed wolf that she had since she was a newborn.

Upon impulse, Amy gathered the stuff toy up, clutching it to her desperately. She heard a creak to the right of her and found Tala in the doorway. He didn't have to ask why she was in here, part of him had hoped the same thing; that he'd wake up and find them safe in their beds.

"Kai will be here around lunch," Tala said, "So will Kaylie, Melissa and the rest of the BBA Revolution. Mr. Dickenson helped get them on a special charter jet that was headed here. White Tiger X and the PPB All Starz will be here sometime tonight or early tomorrow… according to Brook."

Amy just nodded, burying her face into the stuffed animal.

"We'll get them back, Aim," Tala continued, "he can't fight all of us."

"I know," she choked out, still holding the stuffed wolf as though it were the only thing keeping her linked to humanity. "It's just... every minute we spend not trying anything, is another minute their stuck there having who-knows-what done to them!" She pressed the toy closer, her voice dropping to barely above a whisper, "I just want my babies back…"

* * *

"Th-Thea?" Dimitri croaked out, coming to and beginning to shiver, "why is it so cold?"

Thea drew her knees up against her chest, "I-I don't know. Dimka… I want to go home."

"Me too… why haven't mom and dad come yet?" Dimitri slowly sat up, his face contorting with pain at the very action.

"I'm sure they're twying they're vewy hardest to save us," Thea said, encouragingly as her teeth chattered. Her breath hovered in the air as it escaped the warmth of her mouth.

"Well, well, look who's up," sneered a guard as the steel door creaked open, "come on, boy, it's time to break you."

"You leave my bwover alone!" screeched Thea, beating her tiny fists against the man's side as he grabbed Dimitri; pulling him harshly to his feet.

"Back off brat!" snapped another, hitting her to the ground.

"Thea!" Dimitri yelled, trying to fight his way out of the man's grasp. After much struggling, he managed to yank his arm free and- ignoring his body's protests- he stumbled over to his sister. "Are you okay?"

Thea nodded nimbly, she clutched her brother's arm as he stood defiantly in front of her, taking a protective stance.

"Aww how cute," mocked the guard that had struck Thea, taking out a whip, "why don't we just do both?"

"You heard the bosses orders," the other hissed, "the boy first, then we'll have our fun with the little girl." The man grinned savagely, marching over to the twins. "Now then, say goodbye to your sister."

Dimitri's eyes traveled from the guard as he was about to grab him again, then to the open door behind them. "Thea! Wun!" he ordered, kicking the man hard in the shins.

The man gave a small yelp as the twins made a mad dash of the door.

"What are you waiting for, you idiot! Get them!" seethed the wincing man.

The guard lunged at the two, but it was not he who caught them. Gil, Cole's father's most trusted underling, and Cole himself did. Gil had caught Dimitri by his bruised arm, yanking him painfully into the hallway while Cole threw Thea harshly back into the room.

"Get out of there you incompetent fools!" snarled Cole, he turned to Gil, "take the brat to the arena, he is to be broken today no matter what."

"Understood, sir," Gil nodded, dragging Dimitri away.

Cole smirked darkly at Thea walking into the room, ordering at the two guards: "Close the door behind you."

Thea backed up against the wall, glaring at the strange man before her.

"You know, you have your father to blame for all this," Cole stated, pinning her against the far wall. "It's a shame that you look like her… even if you have _his_ hair. It was always a shame when she got injured, such a pretty face," he stroked Thea's face for an instant before she jerked away.

"My momma and daddy _are_ coming fwor us! Just wait and see," Thea spat, fighting the urge to tremble. She was scared, of course she was, she was only a toddler still clinging to her mother and father's legs. She sniffed involuntarily, tears welling up in her eyes, "They are coming… you'll see."

"I know they are," grinned Cole, "and I can't wait. I've always wanted to see your mother break, perhaps when she sees the state you two are in, I'll get my wish." Giving the small girl a small, yet hard kick, Cole stalked out of the room.

_Momma… daddy… pwease huwwy, _Thea silently prayed, wiping tears of both fear and pain from her eyes.

* * *

"So what do we know?" Kai asked, sitting at the dinning room table across from Amy. Beside him sat Ian and Bryan, and across, beside Amy, were Spencer and Tala. He had arrived at their house almost five minutes ago and immediately insisted getting to work on retrieving the twins.

"You mean aside from the fact that Boris has god knows how many thugs running around the place now?" Ian asked.

"They aren't his," Tala growled, "they're Cole's… or Cole's father's rather."

Kai narrowed his eyes at the mention of _his_ name. How he just wanted to strangle that man. "How many stopped you when you went yesterday?"

"At least a dozen, but I don't think that was all of them," Spencer said, truthfully, "if that was all they had in terms of defense they wouldn't have sent them all at us."

Kai nodded thoughtfully. "Any idea how to go about this?"

"Considering we don't know the exact number, we can't rely solely on our individual strength, not too mention those guys are carrying guns. And we have, what? Just beyblades?" Bryan sighed.

"I could get us guns," Ian smirked.

"Our shooters may be guns, but that doesn't mean we automatically know how to use them," Spencer interjected.

"What's to know, you just point and pull the trigger."

"So we can blame you if a stray shot hits one of us," Bryan sneered.

"Ian has a point," Tala stated, "I'm not saying we _should _use guns, but we need something more than just our beyblades."

"Or maybe… our beyblades are all we need," Amy mentioned, her voice barely above a whisper.

"What?" the men looked at her.

"Our bitbeasts… Duo beyblading… it could work," she continued.

"No," Kai said simply.

"Why not? They're the best weapon we've got and we know how to use them properly," Amy argued, "with all of us, it'll take no time at all to teach White Tiger X and PPB All Starz how to Duo bey-battle as well."

"Duo bey-battling is dangerous, Aim, we can't rely on it."

"Kai… please… I know you think that it's too dangerous, but you have to understand it _is_ the only effective thing we can do." Amy paused, taking a deep breath, "And if it means getting the twins back, I'm willing to take the risk that comes with Duo bey-battling."

"Tala…"

"I'm with Amy on this," Tala sighed, "she makes a very good point. Aside from Cole, I highly doubt there are any bey-shooters in there. We'll separate into groups and handle it accordingly."

Spencer nodded, "We know who we're paired with, what about the others."

"Leave that to me," Kaylie said, the first "member" of the BBA Revolution faction to speak. "Let's see here…" She looked over everyone's stats accordingly, laying out files on White Tiger X, PPB All Starz, and the BBA Revolution. "There's definitely going to be some intermixing here…"

She flipped through various papers and then paused, "Okay, I think I have it! Amy did a good job of pairing you guys up, so I'll leave it at that. However, given that technically we have five different teams here, I'm going to put Mel with Daichi and Tyson with Max."

"Wind and water?" Amy asked.

"There's a small chance of hyperresonance, but it's a risk we'll have to take. If it's time flawlessly, the percentage of potential hyperresonance occurrence will drop," Kaylie explained, pushing her glasses up.

"Com again?" Mel asked, not understanding most of what was said.

"If Max and Tyson pull this off, there will be no explosions," sighed Kaylie exasperatedly.

"Oh, gotcha," Mel nodded in understanding.

"Hey, there's _no_ problem there. Me and Maxie will handle it just fine," Tyson grinned exuberantly.

"Right, moving on." Kaylie cleared her throat. "I'm going to put Courtney and Rick together, that way we have a less likely hyperresonance occurrence and still another counter-balance. Brook will be with Lee, Ray with Mariah, and Gary with Emily."

"And the rest of the PPB All Starz?" pressed Spencer.

"Yes well, this is where it gets interesting. I think our best bet in pairing is Michael with Eddie and me with Kevin," Kaylie concluded.

"And why is that?" Hilary asked.

"Michael is wind- we don't want to risk pairing him with Emily for the same reason we are taking a chance with Tyson and Max. I can't pair with Michael either because I am wind as well, that will undoubtedly cause a hyperresonance, so the only way for it to work is to pair Gary with Emily and me with Kevin." Kaylie replaced her files, looking quite content with her decisions.

"You left someone out though," Amy grinned.

"Oh?" Kaylie relooked through her files, trying to figure out who she could have possibly forgotten. "Who? I-I don't see-"

"Sadie."

Kaylie's eyes widened a fraction, "Right! I've forgotten all about her!" She looked at Amy expectantly, "What are her stats and her element?"

"Her element is rock, and her speed and attack are much better than her defense."

"Okay, change of plans. I'm not much of a bey-shooter so, Michael and Gary will be paired together, Emily with Sadie, and Kevin with Eddie. Is this okay with everyone?" Kaylie asked.

A brief nod passed through all the shooters.

"Good, we'll start practice as soon as the others arrive. Our rescue mission will be scheduled as soon as everyone can execute the moves perfectly," Kaylie instructed.

"I don't suppose you will be handling our training?" Amy asked, not overly happy about the fact that this may take longer than a day or two.

"Well, yeah… but not alone. Hilary and Kenny will be assisting me as well."

"Go figure," Tyson muttered, "let _her _help with training…"

"What's that supposed to mean!?" his girlfriend- Hilary- yelled, hitting his arm.

"Bryan, does Lissa know anything about bey-shooting?" Amy asked.

"A little, she doesn't do it herself, but she knows what I've told her about it," Bryan admitted.

"She can help too then," Tala declared.

"Courtney and Brook are going to call the minute their plane lands, I'll inform them of the plan then and they can pass the word on to the teams," Amy decided, "in the meantime, let's get you guys comfortable, right?" Amy rose from the table, gliding across the room to the exit, "I'll show you guys where you're sleeping."

Kai leaned back in his chair as the BBA Revolution followed Amy towards the stairs. "You're lucky you have a big house," he yawned.

Tala just shrugged, "You're not going to?"

"I'll find my room later," he said, in a bored like manner. "I'm not comfortable with Duo bey-shooting to get Thea and Dimitri back, but if it means watching Boris get torn apart by bitbeasts- something he more than deserves- I'm willing to put my all into this. I don't blame you for what happened, by the way-"

"You shouldn't, I wasn't even there when it happened," Tala growled.

"Just don't let it happen again."

Bryan snickered uncontrollably. Kai's overprotective nature was more than hilarious to the twenty-four year old. He only stopped when both Kai and Tala shot him a glare. "Uhh… I'll go call Lissa…" he excused himself, escaping to the safety of another room.

* * *

"Soo," Melissa began, following Amy along the upper portion of the house after she had deposited her bag in her room, "how have you and Tala been?"

"We're good," Amy said, "aside from the twins being kidnapped, we were quite happy."

"Oh… was this their room?" Melissa asked, pausing at a door and peeking in to discover children's toys and two small beds.

Amy nodded, looking into the room sorrowfully. Nicol, looked up at his master, whimpering sympathetically and bumping his head against her leg.

"I can't imagine how it must have felt," Kaylie said, peering into the room as well.

"Yeah, but we'll get them back, and when we do Boris and Cole will pay!" Melissa declared, pumping her arm in the air.

"Don't forget Cole's father," Kaylie reminded.

"Yeah, fatso too."

Amy let out a small laugh at Melissa's name for Cole's father. "I know… but I still wish…"

"They were here?" Kaylie finished.

"Yeah… I keep praying that it's all a dream… that I'll wake up and they'll be right here… but no matter how many times I pinch myself… it's never a dream." Amy grazed her finger along the doorframe. "You have no idea how this waiting is killing me, I know it's necessary to ensure that we get them back and all but-"

"I know," her friends said at the same time, "and that's why, they're going to pay."

* * *

"Damnit brat! Why won't you just break!" Gil yelled, snapping the whip against Dimitri's back.

Dimitri winced, but bit back a cry. He may only be four, but he knew better than to give this jerk satisfaction. "Why not hit me wike a weal man! Instead of hiding behind a piece of weather!" he spat at them, blood staining his teeth red. He thought many insults that he could shoot at them; most of which he had heard his father use in a fight before- of course neither his mother nor his father knew that he heard them. Only he kept his mouth shut. His mother would not be proud of him if he sunk to their level by calling them 'inappropriate' names.

He remembered all too well how she had yelled at his father about saying such things.

Gil snarled bitterly, snapping his whip harder against the boy's bare flank. Still not gaining a response, Gil marched over to the boy and yanked his head painfully back by his hair. "Care to repeat that you little cur?" he hissed, dropping the whip and using his now free hand to finger his revolver.

All that his mother taught him about being respectful… about not using 'inappropriate' language in a fight left him as he stared hatefully up into his tormentors brown eyes. Curling his lips into a mocking snarl, he spat the very same words he heard his father use against his opponent. "Go to hell, you cock-sucker."

Of course, the words came out more like, "Gwo to heww, you cock-suckwer," but the meaning was understood. With a vicious growl, Gil smacked the hilt of the gun against Dimitri's head, rendering him unconscious.

"Return him to his containment cell, we'll work on the girl later," he barked.

"But sir, Erik and Cole said-"

"_I don't care_ what they said! I want these brats broken! If it means alternating beatings then so be it!" Gil stormed out of the arena, seething with anger. Not since their mother had he met such a stubborn brat. _Hopefully, the girl will be much easier,_ he thought, walking through the halls to speak with Erik about his plan of alternating between the two. Even if he disagreed, what could the fat old man do?

Yes, Gil may follow Erik's orders… most of the time, but the men who served them knew who was _really_ in charge of them. Erik may march around and spout orders here and there, but without Gil, his plan would crumple. Not even his idiot coward of a son could take power over Gil.

He was the real boss of the guards… and Boris knew that. Which was why he was paying him double to carry out _his_ orders.

_Keep believing what you want, Erik, everyone else knows your days are numbered. _Gil chuckled darkly, _You and your idiot son…_

* * *

blackamber- :O That was totally unintentional! I just realized now what I have done... I created another evil person!!

Sadie- I thought Gil was always an evil person...

blackamber- He was... but I mean now he's an kind of important evil person... I didn't even plan that...

Kaylie- She's right! It's not even in her notes (flips through pages of random stick drawings of what could possibly happen with random words written at points) ... Your notes are really incoherent...

blackamber- (shrug) I understand what they mean... you just don't understand my language

Kai- Or you're just an idiot

blackamber- (sighs) Why'd I have to bring _you_ back...

Tala- R&R


	20. Another Demonstration of Power

blackamber- Okay... so I realized a couple of things that I think I may need to clear up (ahem) BRYAN!

Bryan- For Christ's sake woman! You don't need to yell I'm right here!

blackamber- Hmmm, so you are...

Bryan- (annoyed) As I always am...

blackamber- Huh... read this (takes out note from the ever famous folder labeled We Will Fall Together Notes)

Bryan- (sigh) "blackamber has just gotten to the part where BEGA comes in while re-watching season 3 of Beyblade and realizes that in Move Along, she states that they- being the Silver Fangs- meet up with their family and the Blitzkrieg Boys in Australia. So... to make it make sense with the series- since BEGA is stationed in Japan- during the time jump between Move Along and We Will Fall Together was when the whole BEGA thing happened..."

blackamber- Another thing I noticed was that Tyson's blade was now called Dragoon Galaxy Turbo and Kai's was Dranzer Gigs Turbo... and which point I cleverly said to myself, "there seems to be a pattern here... (sigh) I guess I need to make new blades..." So I did, and with the help of my trusty Hurricane Twin, I managed to give them awesome names too!

Windy- (My Hurricane Twin) Recognition (sniff) so honored!

Amy- Who the hell is this?

blackamber- READ THE BRACKETS!

Amy- Riiiigghhtt...

Melissa- blackamber does not own anything to do with Beyblade or its characters...

Courtney- Nor does she own the moves Terrestrial Rage and Flame Wheel- Final Fantasy IX and Pokemon do.

Kaylie- On with the chapter!

* * *

"Alright," Kaylie said, standing up to address everyone in the room. All five teams- or rather twenty-five pairs of eyes when you counted Sadie and Lissa- were locked on her as she paced to the front of them. "Out of everyone here, only fourteen of you- myself included- know how to Duo Beybattle. So, we need to work _really_ hard to get you all ready for what's to come. Remember, little kids lives are at stake here!"

"I'd rather not think of it _that_ way, thanks," Amy muttered, leaning against Tala as her glasses wearing friend spoke.

"Max and Courtney explained to us the basics of it, so we're _all _ready to get started," Rick stated arrogantly.

"I highly doubt it," commented Kaylie, "there is no way you guys can fathom exactly what it is to balance and counter-balance elements just through explanation. I think a demonstration is needed. Amy, Brook, Courtney, Mel?"

The four teammates sighed, and the captain asked, "Usual set up?"

"If you would, oh, and this time, don't counter the others attack, we don't want a repeat of what happened at Ayers Rock," ordered Kaylie, pushing her glasses as they slid down her nose.

"Yeah, yeah," Amy sighed absent-mindedly, fetching the new home for her trusted bit-beast partner, her new Hein Firestorm X blade, courtesy of one Kaylie Alder. She had re-vamped the entire teams blades, replacing the black one's with something similar only this time with an engine gear installed. They were still all black, with a pattern corresponding with each of the team member's element.

Brook now had the Madeen Terra Maximum blade, Courtney Sohi Breaker Extreme, and Mel had the Voltier Vulcan Turbo blade- though she called it the Voltier Vulcan Max Turbo Extreme blade. Of course, Kaylie too had a new blade. Which was the Skart Cyclone Spire blade. So use to just calling their blades simply Hein, Sohi, Voltier, Skart, and Madeen, that the woman had to have an earlier practice just to get used to the new names.

The indoor dish was positioned in the basement of the house, which had been converted into a training style facility for Tala and the rest of the Blitzkrieg Boys. Amy led the guests to the basement, taking her stance on the far side of the dish, Brook at her side.

"Try not to blow up my house," Amy teased Mel as though it were just like old times. Don't get her wrong, she was worried sick for her children, but this training was so that they would get them back no questions asked- so she might as well make the best of it right?

"Amy and Brook will obviously be performing the counter-balance and Courtney and Melissa balance," Kaylie explained, "since their elements are fire and earth and water and lightning."

"But on Ayers Rock you had Amy and Courtney counter-balancing… why change it this time?" Ray asked.

"We usually have Amy tagged with Brook in Duo matches, their combined strength is remarkable," Kaylie said, starry-eyed. "If I could only harness half of their power-"

"And so you pin us against them, thanks," Courtney said jokingly.

Kaylie gave her a look that said 'don't interrupt me'. "Now, most importantly, with a new blade comes new moves. So, you four are forbidden from using your old specials. That means no Lightning Strike, no Blue Ice, no Scarlet Flame, and no Earth Homing. Got it?"

"Sometimes I wonder who the captain really is," Melissa muttered, getting ready to launch her blade.

"Did you say something Mel?" Kaylie asked innocently, her eyes blazing.

"Uhh… nope! C'mon let's get started!" she urged, nervously.

"Once you're delivered each of your new attacks, you guys can balance and counter-balance," instructed Kaylie.

"You know, one would think you have it in for us," commented Courtney, dryly.

"Let's just do this," growled Amy, readying her blade.

"Three… two… one…" the usual chorus was chanted, followed by a loud, "LET IT RIP!"

Amy howled, calling forth her wolf of fire. "Let's go! Hein Firestorm X!" The blade raced into the fray, locking with Courtney and Melissa's blades.

Brook laughed, "Hey, save some for us! Go, Madeen Terra Maximum!" The cougar bit-beast leapt forward with a loud roar, pushing back against Mel's blade as Amy and Hein focused on Courtney.

"Oh yeah! I want in on this action!" Daichi yelled, reaching for his Strata Dragoon.

"Daichi! You can't interfere with their battle! They're doing a demonstration!" Hilary scolded.

"But… it's no fun battling Tyson anymore! I want to fight Brook, or Amy or Courtney! They seem like a _real_ challenge!" complained the youngest man.

"And what am I? Chop Suey?" demanded Mel, "Come on Voltier! Let's show them who's good! Spark Blast!" The stag powered up a ball of electric energy at the base of his twelve-pronged antlers.

"Oh no you don't!" yelled Brook, "Madeen! Terrestrial Rage!" The cougar roared again as rocks and various other forms of nature sprung forth from the dish.

"Oi! What did I say about-"

"I won't permanently damage anything," promised Brook as Madeen continued the attack, launching the newly grown terrain at the stag.

"Well, Aim, I'd hate to miss all the action," Courtney grinned, "Sohi, Hydro Jet!" The giant sting-ray created a pool of water beneath it; powering up to shoot streams of water at the fire wolf.

Amy smirked, "Is that the best you can do? Hein! Wolfsbane's Inferno!" The wolf howled, the dish beginning to rumble. The plastic began to glow magma red and shake with the force of the attack.

"And you were complaining to me about destroying the house," scoffed Brook.

"I didn't know hot the destructive power involved with this move," Amy shot back as the dish finally erupted in a small swell of fire.

"So coool!" Daichi and Sadie cheered at the same time, looking on in total awe.

"Let's end this," Courtney stated, "Sohi! Aqua Torrent!"

"Voltier! Electric Pulse!" ordered Melissa.

"Sohi-

"Voltier-

"Electric Torrent!" the two yelled together.

"Remember, Aim, no countering," Brook reminded as their blades took the hit in stride; sending them back against the far side of the partially destroyed dish. As the attack subsided, a small nod passed between captain and newly made second-stringer (or second in command).

"Hein! Flame Wheel!" ordered Amy.

"Madeen! Seismic Blast!"

"Hein-

"Madeen-

"FLAME BLAST!"

* * *

Thea's head spun as a rock hard fist connected with the back of her head for the seventh time, driving her teeth deeper into the man's hand, which she had bit in defense. The metallic taste of blood gushed into her mouth, making her feel even more sick. Salty tears trickled from her eyes as she fought back the sobs that tried to take control of her body.

Her parents should have been here by now… where were they?

She blanked out momentarily as the fist hit her for the eighth consecutive time and on the ninth she had lost all consciousness- slipping away from the ache that pounded at her head and returning to realm without pain. To a world where she, and her brother, were _still_ with their parents- even uncle Kai was there with his girlfriend and what she imagined her future cousin to look like. Part of her four year old mind knew it wasn't real, but there was still that other part that hoped. The urged her that what she had been experiencing was just a really bad nightmare and she had finally woken up.

Her hopes were proven false though, when the bitter cold hit her and woke her from her stupor. She shivered against the brick wall of her containment cell, Dimitri still unconscious. Water dripped from the frosted ceiling, creating small puddles on the dirt floor- some of which were beginning to freeze over. She looked down at the puddle beside her, the swelling and bruising from her beating evident on her tiny features. Really, the only thing that she still recognized about herself was her father's trade-mark red hair and her mother's gorgeous silver-grey eyes- the Hiwatari eyes.

Her uncle had them, her mother had them, and now she had them.

_Momma, where are you?_ Tears racked her body as she trembled in both fear and anguish. Realization dawned on her why her parents hadn't come yet, they didn't want to. They didn't care that they were in this God-forsaken place. When she thought about it, her mother had allowed them to be taken without much of a fight at all. Surely, their mother must have sensed that someone was coming up behind them; after all, whenever she or Dimitri were sneaking around behind her back she knew instantly and called them on it.

"Thea… are you okay?" Dimitri asked, his body shaking with cold, "you're shivewing."

Thea glanced over at where her brother lay; their eyes met and his sapphire ones widened considerably.

"Thea… your face! What happened?" Dimitri asked, then, growing angry, he corrected himself, "who did this to you!?"

Thea was silent, still shaking.

"Thea?"

"Momma and daddy aren't coming… are they?" she asked, trying to fight back more tears.

"Yeah, they are! You'll see. Mom's gonna come widing in at top speed on Indy and dad… he's gonna kick all the bad guys butts!" said Dimitri, encouragingly. "It's just taking a while 'cause they're not sure how to get to us, that's all."

"You sure?" questioned Thea, moving closer to her brother.

"I'm positive!" grinned he, sitting up and wrapping his sister into a gentle embrace to try and help keep both of them warm. "Hein and Wolborg will be with them too! Fighting along side to pwotect us!"

"Yeah," agreed Thea, suddenly hopeful again, "momma said he'd always watch over us."

"Exactwy!"

Thea had another thought, another sad thought. "If Hein is always watching over us… why didn't he stop us fwom being taken?"

Dimitri shrugged, "Maybe he couldn't… dad said that there were times when mom was in danger and Hein couldn't hewlp her."

"I weally miss them, Dimka," wailed Thea, "I wanna go home!"

Dimitri hugged his sister tighter, "I know, sis, I wanna go home too… but we gots ta stay stwong… for momma and dad!"

Thea nodded, burying her face in her brother's filthy shirt.

"And don't wowwy, Thea… until they come… I'll pwotect you," he promised as she slipped into an easier slumber- somewhat warmer and feeling a little more protected from the cold.

* * *

Amy caught her blade as the demonstration ended; Brook did likewise. The two friends watched in amusement as their two opponents hunted for their own blades that had flown out of what was once a bey-dish not moments before.

"Every time I see Duo Beyblading, I can't help think about how _cool_ it is!" exclaimed Daichi, jumping up and down energetically, "let's get started with training right away!"

Daichi's words were readily backed by the equally enthusiastic Rick; both were eager for the chance to prove themselves in the dish.

"Well, there's no harm in getting started right away," Courtney mused, after finally retrieving her blade. "Rick, you're with me-"

"Outside," Tala stated, "since the dish is all but in pieces, we'll need to work with the sturdier ones outside."

"Will we still need to practice right now?" Bryan asked, "I mean, we know what we're doing and how our partners work and attack so-"

"We'll leave training today for those just learning," Hilary spoke up after discussing something with Lissa, Kenny, and Kaylie, "so you guys can either help out with those who aren't paired with a seasoned Duo Beyblader, or sit back and relax."

"Yeah, I highly doubt Tala and Amy are going to let us sit back and relax," muttered Ian as he followed Courtney and Rick up out of the basement and then outside. The others followed in suit and soon, it was only the Volkov couple left in the basement.

"Where'd that power come from?" Tala asked, in bemusement.

"Anger… frustration…" Amy replied stoically, putting Hein away.

"Is our attack still the same, or are we changing it to better suit those sweet moves you have now?" teased Tala.

"I've _always_ had sweet moves," his wife countered, "and I was thinking of combining your Novae Rog with my Wolfsbane's Inferno."

"Soo, what? Wolfsbane's Rog?"

"You are _really_ bad at coming up with attack names. Let's try, Novae Inferno."

Tala moved closer to Amy as she remained glued to her spot by the dish. He wrapped his arms possessively around her waist, pulling her to his chest- kissing what little skin he could reach at the base of her neck. "It's coming together now, eh love? You'll see… we'll be storming up to that damned abbey in no time."

"I know," she whispered, resting her hands over top of his, "but it's still not soon enough."

"Thea and Dimitri are tough, remember who they take after. They won't let Boris break them," assured Tala, resting his head at the nape of her neck.

"I hope you mean that they take after me in that sense, 'cause if they take after you they may already be his newest beyblading slaves," she mocked as her husband chuckled.

"I guess I set myself up for that one," he sighed, giving her one final kiss before backing off. "I'll meet you upstairs."

Amy simply nodded, waiting until she heard the basement door close firmly before falling to her knees, cursing herself. Why couldn't she have done something sooner? She had the power to do so, so why? She hugged herself, gazing disdainfully at the melted and shattered plastic of the dish that was scattered around her. _I _will_ get them back Boris,_ she vowed, _and when I do, you are going to be sorry…_

* * *

blackamber- Oh dear... an angry Amy...

Amy- Why am I always angry at some point another?

blackamber- I blame your blood

Kai- And what's that supposed to mean?

blackamber- Well... you _are_ Mr. Grouchy so it's quite plausible that she gets it from you

Bryan- Ummm, wouldn't it make more sense for her to get it from one of her parents?

blackamber- ...

blackamber- I stand by what I said...

Tala- R&R


	21. Observing Combinations

blackamber- More thanks to my Hurricane Twin in this one for helping me once more with names and combined attacks!

Windy- So much love! (raises fist) Best buds...

blackamber- For life! (taps fist against hers)

Amy- Is she now a permanent addition to the header notes?

blackamber- Only until all the new names for beyblades are done and the new attacks

Windy- (nods head) Uh-huh

Bryan- No announcement this time?

blackamber- Nope... but I discovered something today while I was procrastinating with this chapter that broke my heart...

Windy- Mine tooo...

Amy/Bryan- What?

blackamber- Boris is Hatori Soma from Fruits Basket...

Windy- OH THE HORROR!

Amy/Bryan- Who the hell is that?

blackamber/Windy- You wouldn't understand...

Melissa- Usual disclaimer!

blackamber- OH! and just so you know! Sadie's attack has been changed slightly... it's now Guardian God of the Tomb... I just thought Guardian Tomb was too perfect since it's Anubis and I didn't want to change it so I added to is XD... hey if Tyson and Kai can have new attacks by just adding "Turbo" at the end, Sadie can too by adding "God of the"

* * *

"I'd say things are coming along nicely," Hilary said, reviewing stats with Kenny as Lissa cheered on the latest pairs who were training against one another. They had been training for two days now, almost nonstop, determined to be able to use their bit-beasts as weapons as soon as possible.

"Yeah, the groups that are balancing have really gotten good, we just need to work more with the ones that are counter-balancing. Especially Max and Tyson," Kenny responded, "since their counter-balance is a dangerous."

"Amy's monitoring their training. Interfering when it seems like the combination is going south," Lissa said over her shoulder at the two.

"How is she doing that?" Hilary asked.

"She has Hein in the dish with them so that if the combo doesn't seem to be working she can just knock one of the blades out of the dish before the attack can be fully carried out," explained the blonde woman.

"She has _that _much power!? Jeez, Tyson's lucky she didn't compete in the World Championship ever!" exclaimed Hilary in amazement.

"She's _not_ that powerful, Max and Tyson just don't fight back when she interferes and they made sure Dragoon and Draciel know not to as well," corrected Kenny, "Kaylie explained it to me."

"Oh."

* * *

Tyson caught Dragoon as he came sailing out of the dish, growling in frustration. "What was wrong with _that _one!?" he demanded, his words drenched in agitation.

"You would have caused a hyperresonance, that's what was wrong," stated Amy, summoning Hein back and crossing her arms in a trade-mark Hiwatari fashion.

Max sighed, summoning his Draciel back. "I guess we'll just have to do it again."

They had performed, or tried to perform, for hours on end for the past two days and had only actually carried it out decently- without risk- once. If we were going technical, that would be an average of 1 in 1,000,000 attempts, give or take a few.

Tyson let out another growl, readying his launch beside his blonde haired friend and partner.

Amy cracked her neck and readied herself as well and recited, in a bored fashion, "Three, two, one…"

"Let it RIP!" yelled the two boys, launching their beyblades.

Amy launched Hein, getting him to wait back against the edge of the dish near her as Draciel and Dragoon circled, awaiting their shooters orders.

"Dragoon! Galaxy Turbo Twister!" yelled Tyson, his usual zeal coming back with a vengeance.

"Draciel! Gravity Control!" Max ordered.

"Dragoon-

"Draciel-

"Gravity Twister!"

The blue dragon and black tortoise reacted immediately, a giant twister rising up from the white beyblade as the dish was flooded with water. The same water- rather than turning into a tidal wave like it usually did- got caught up in the twister, creating a giant typhoon in the dish.

Amy grinned at the attack, let the stats now read, an average of 2 in 1,000,000. Hein was sent back further against the dish, still spinning strong but obviously affected by the attack.

"ALRIGHT!" Tyson cheered, pumping his arm in the air.

"YEAH!" Max also cheered, "way to go Draciel!"

"Good going guys," Amy congratulated, "now let's see if you can do that more than just once in a blue moon."

"Aww! Can't we take a break first?" Tyson asked, losing his excitement.

Amy shook her head, "Summon Dragoon back and let's go again. If you can perform the counter-balance again then we can take a break. If not, we will keep going until the two of you _can_ do it twice in a row."

The two friends summoned their blades back as Amy did likewise, preparing for the next launch.

* * *

"Alright Daichi, let's do this," Mel smiled, standing across from Courtney and Rick.

"Yeah, let's show them!" Daichi grinned, readying his Strata Dragoon.

"Don't think we'll go down too easily, punk," Rick growled, taking his Rock Bison out.

"Good luck Mel, you'll need it," Courtney teased, Sohi already in her launcher.

"We'll see who needs the luck," countered the shorter woman.

"Three, two, one… LET IT RIP!"

"Ready Rick?" Courtney asked.

"I was born ready!" growled Rick.

"Sohi-

"Rock Bison-

"Drop Torrent!" (**A/N: trust me… that is the best I can do with Courtney and Rick. The other options would be Hydro Rock, Drop Jet, Aqua Rock… I guess I could have used one of her old moves but I would rather use the new ones in this. As much as I love Blue Ice)**

Rock Bison's blade was completely submerged in rock and the force of the gushing water from Sohi's attack sped up his charge -giving him the strength, if he ever had the desire to do so, to break through even the strongest of metal-alloys.

Strata Dragoon and Voltier flew back, hitting the far end of the dish hard and creating a crater sized hole in the "wall".

Daichi let out a small growl. "Mel, let's show we don't let _anybody_ push _us_ around!"

"Right!" Melissa nodded.

"Strata Dragoon-

"Voltier-

"Spark Cutter!"

The attack was carried out as Strata Dragoon's Great Cutter usually was, only this time it was not just the cutter that surrounded Strata Dragoon's blade, but an electrical current as well- strengthening the cuts power.

"Hmm, I think Mel, Daichi, Rick and Courtney have just about perfected it," Kenny said, happily, while typing into his ever faithful Dizzi laptop.

"So that's another one to add to the list," Hilary grinned, checking off their names on a clipboard she had.

Melissa and Daichi high-fived another as Rick and Courtney merely smirked at each other.

"So, who's next?" Lissa asked as some of the other beybladers came over- not for their evaluation but just to sit down from exhaustion.

"Hmm, I was thinking Emily and Sadie against Ray and Mariah," Kenny said, "but they seem pretty worn out."

"Don't worry about it chief, we don't mind going now," Ray said encouragingly as he and Mariah took their position by the dish..

"I'll go get Sadie and Emily," Lissa grinned, racing off.

"And to go visit Bryan while he's training," Hilary muttered, knowing full well about the relationship with the grey haired Russian beyblader and the blonde woman. "Hey, how do you think Tyson and Max are doing?" was what she asked, what she _meant _was, "how do you think Tyson's doing?"

"When I last talked to Amy, she said they managed to perform the counter-balance once in all their training," Kenny sighed, "and she said it was only decently… nothing to be amazed about."

"Maybe it was just too much of a challenge for them," muttered Hilary, feeling bad for her boyfriend.

"Maybe, I can only imagine how frustrating this must be for Tyson," Melissa said, "he's not use to this kind of challenge.

"Pah, I bet _I_ could do it if _I_ was asked," Daichi stated, as confidently as ever.

Melissa rolled her eyes, deciding it was probably best if she _didn't_ comment on that.

Lissa returned with Emily and Sadie, towing a grinning Bryan and an annoyed looking Kai as well.

This time, Hilary was the one to roll her eyes. "Alright, you two stand opposite to Ray and Mariah."

"We know how to begin a beybattle, Hilary," growled Emily, taking out Trygator.

Sadie retrieved her own blade, a new Anubis Guardian Turbo- also curtsey of one Kaylie Alder.

"Alright then, three, two, one… LET IT RIP!"

"Ray and Mariah are going to attack first!" Kenny instructed from his place with his computer- the camera fixed on the dish.

"So, what are you doing over here?" Hilary asked Kai, who still looked quite annoyed.

"Hn, I can't exactly practice if my _partner_ is too busy fawning over a girl," he growled, glaring at the oblivious Bryan- who had slung his arm around Lissa's shoulders and was grinning like an idiot.

Hilary laughed lightly, focusing back on the match since it was her job to observe the match and include her input in deciding who was ready and who wasn't. And since Lissa was "busy" she'd have to make to catch _every _detail.

"Alright Driger, let's go!" Ray yelled.

"Galux attack!"

"Driger-

"Galux-

"Gatling Attack!"

* * *

Tyson and Max panted heavily by the end of their training.

"There," Tyson stated with a small growl, "we did it twice in a row."

Amy smirked, summoning Hein back. "You're improving, that's good."

"So, why do you have us still powering up our moves when all other combinations just go through with the attack?" Max asked, it was a question that had bugged him since they started.

"It's the only way to instigate a safe combination. If you were just to go straight into the attack, the powers would clash and the hyperresonance would undoubtedly occur." Amy placed Hein in her pocket, looking towards where Hilary, Kenny, and Lissa were suppose to be reviewing the attacks.

"How do you suppose the others are doing?" Tyson asked, quickly recovering form his exhaustion.

"I think they'll do fine. After all, if they're not paired with someone who has combined before, they're near someone who has and can give pointers. Out of everyone here, fourteen of us have counter-balanced or balanced an attack before, that's more than half." The words were more to reassure herself than to explain to the boys of her theory. _They'll do fine and we _will_ get Thea and Dimitri back._

* * *

Somehow, Sadie and Emily managed to survive Mariah and Ray's attack; they're blades still spinning strong.

"Alright, Trygator!"

"Get ready Anubis!"

"Guardian Bite!"

* * *

"I wonder where Tala went to," Spencer muttered as he and Ian practiced with Brook and Lee.

Ian just shrugged as his Wyborg pushed back against Lee's Galeon.

"Why? Are you worried about him?" Brook asked as Madeen circled Seaborg.

"A little," Spencer responded, moving in to attack.

"Are we just going to chat or practice our combinations?" Lee asked.

"Sorry Lee," grinned Brook, in a flirtatious manner. "Let's go Madeen!"

"Alright Galeon, let's show them how it's done."

"Madeen-

"Galeon-

"Terrestrial Lightning!"

* * *

"Listen, Amy… I'm really sorry about what happened," Tyson said sincerely.

"Where'd this come from?" Amy asked with a joking tone.

"You don't have to pretend to be strong in front of us, Amy," Max smiled, "and I'm with Tyson. _We_ are sorry about what happened."

"Yeah, when Mel told me I was… well I was shocked first but then I just got really angry, and punched a hole in our dojo's door- even ask Mel. I mean, you're our friend's little sister, our sister's friend and the wife of our buddy," continued Tyson, "and it was the lowest thing Boris could do."

"Thanks Tyson, Max, but I'm fine right now, 'cause I know when we march up to that abbey we're going to have Boris begging for mercy." Amy's eyes flared with sudden anger, "After all, _no one_ messes with the Hiwatari's."

Max laughed lightly, "Technically, you're not a Hiwatari anymore."

"By name, no, but by blood I'll always be one." When she had gotten married to Tala, shortly after he had been released from the hospital because of a certain purple haired freak, Kai had said something very similar to her. She kept that belief with her even now; it was proof that if he really tried he _could_ be sentimental.

"We just wanted you to know, we'll do whatever it takes to get your kids back!" yelled Tyson with zeal.

Amy couldn't help but smile; the man's air was contagious. "Come on, let's head back to the others so I can inform Kenny of your progress." She lead them to the front of the house, where many of the pairs were taking a break and watching the next round between Kai, Bryan, Gary and Michael. On the far side of the front lawn, she saw Spencer and Ian preparing for their combination against Brook and Lee; Kaylie watching them attentively. If anyone were to say who was ready, it would be her, which was the main reason Kenny was recording all the matches he, Hilary, and olLissa were monitoring.

They would present what they saw and why they thought the bladers to be ready, and then Kaylie would review it and state whether or not they really were and then go further as to explain why they were or weren't. She drifted over to her best friend watching as Ian and Spencer finished their "Sand Stamolyu" attack.

"How's it going?" she asked calmly, standing beside Kaylie.

"You taught the Blitzkrieg Boys well, I don't see any flaws in their combinations," Kaylie said, making notes.

"That's good to hear. What about Lee?"

"He could use some touching up, but Brook'll be all over that after lunch, I already informed her." Kaylie looked up from her notes as both sides summoned their blades back.

"Hey Aim," Spencer addressed her, "you know where Tala went?"

"No, I haven't seen him since practice started," she admitted, suddenly getting curious as to the disappearance of her husband.

"Well, _you_ better find him and practice, I'm reviewing you guys after lunch," Kaylie smirked, giving her a small tap with her clipboard.

"Yeah, yeah," Amy muttered, "I'll find him." She placed two fingers in her mouth and let out a high-pitched whistle, immediately the old husky came loping up to her, wagging his tail happily. "You ready to do some tracking, Nic?"

Nicol let out a low woof and cocked his head to the side. "I'll be back soon," she promised her friends and comrades in arms. "Come on boy, let's go find Tala." Her dog let out an excited bark and raced out of the yard, obviously following the man's scent.

* * *

Tala glared at the offending building that was Bolkov abbey. Where he was positioned, he could clearly see the guards on duty, but they could not see him. Part of him wanted to charge at them and fight his way into the abbey, but he knew it would be a fool's move. What made it worse was that if he listened carefully enough, he could hear one of his children crying out in pain.

Clenching his fist, he ground his teeth together. _Just hang in there, kids, your mom and I are coming as fast as we can._

"So here is where you're hiding," Amy's voice came from behind him as Nicol bounded up to him, panting proudly at the fact that he had found him.

Tala tore his eyes away from the abbey staring at her. "You miss me?" he forced teased.

"Not really," shrugged Amy, "it's just that Kaylie told me she's testing our combination skills after lunch today and-" Amy froze as a loud cry echoed through the Russian sky.

Tala quickly turned back to look at the abbey, his glare darkening.

Instinct took hold of Amy and before she could register what was happening, she was propelling herself towards the abbey. Had Tala not stopped her, she probably would have willingly attacked the guards with fist, foot, teeth and blade. "How dare he!" she snarled as tears brimmed her eyes.

Tala pulled her against him; fighting the urge to do exactly the same thing his wife was about to. "We should probably head back," he coaxed, forcing himself to take a step back.

"I want to kill that man!" seethed Amy.

"We will… but not today," he urged, his body becoming a little more eager to obey as common sense entered his mind once more.

Reluctantly, Amy turned away, allowing her husband to lead her home.

* * *

"Gil! I ordered you not to break the girl until the boy was broken!" barked Erik as he watched Gil whip Thea mercilessly, "who authorized this?"

"I did," Boris' cold voice echoed above Thea's cries.

"Boris! I did not agree to this! Gil, return that brat to the containment cell and get back to work on-"

"Keep up the good work, Gil," contradicted Boris, "perhaps the boy will loosen up a bit more once he sees his sister break."

"Yes sir," Gil grinned, whipping Thea again.

A loud cry broke out of Thea's lips, which were badly chapped and beginning to turn blue with cold.

"BORIS! How dare you order _my_ men arou-"

"If you were more conscious of your men, Erik, you may have noticed they no longer have any loyalties to you. And your way was taking too long, why go for the obviously stronger of the twins while the weaker continues to give him something to fight for. By attacking the girl we are attacking both at the same time. Wouldn't the boy be more willing to work for us if it meant his sister wouldn't be hurt anymore?" Boris grinned sadistically.

"I'm not trying to win them over, Boris, I'm _trying_ to get my revenge on their bitch of a mother who cut off my finger!" seethed Erik, his face turning purple with rage.

"Well, it seems then that I have no more use for you," stated Boris, "I will keep your son as my subordinate- a coach for the two once they join me."

"I will see you killed for this!" raged the fat, short man, drawing a sword out of his cane.

A gunshot was fired and Thea twitched at the sound, but the shot wasn't aimed at her.

The round man dropped to the dirt floor, blood escaping through the tiny hole from its flesh colored threshold.

Gil smirked, putting his revolver away as Boris merely stepped over the body, calling over his shoulder, "Have some of your men clean up this mess before it starts to stink."

"At once, sir," nodded Gil, all the while thinking, _One down… two to go._

* * *

blackamber- (ahem) I'm sure half-way through you noticed that I stopped describing the attacks... that's 'cause I have no idea what to put! I'm sorry... if you have ideas for any of the attacks please tell me... oh! and here are all the attacks that will be used by the pairs:

Spencer and Ian- Sand Stamolyu

Gary and Michael- Super Bear Cannon Stomp **(A/N- stupid Michael and his insanely long attack name... honestly who has three words for an attack!?)**

Eddie and Kevin- Illusion Sting

Lee and Brook- Terrestrial Lightning

Tyson and Max- Gravity Twister

Rick and Courtney- Drop Torrent

Melissa and Daichi- Spark Cutter

Emily and Sadie- Guardian Bite

Amy and Tala- Novae Inferno

Bryan and Kai- Blazing Stroblitz

Mariah and Ray- Gatling Attack

blackamber- Anywho... I hope you enjoy... the major fight is coming up- if it doesn't start in the next one then it will definitely be in the next. Take it away, TALA!

Tala- (weird look, then sighs) R&R


	22. The Attack

blackamber- I was really pumped writing this…

Windy- It's true… I was there…

Bryan- Why… what happened? (look of horror) You didn't have another Beyblade marathon did you? It's really scary when you do.

blackamber- Nope, not this time! I was listening to the Buffy musical episode… or rather just the songs… and the opening to the show… it gets you really pumped for writing action and… and fighting… and suspense!

Windy- And then listening to the songs "Standing", "Wish I Could Stay", and "Under Your Spell" make you want all nice and sweet moments.

blackamber- (nods in agreement) Anywho, props out to my Hurricane Twin once again for coming to my rescue with a name for Cole's new blade and attacks for it.

Windy- (teary eyed) (sniff) More love (sniff)

Amy- (rolls eyes) Is she going to do that every time you give her "props" as you put it?

blackamber- (thinks about it for a second) Probably… she usually does…

Melissa- Usual disclaimer

* * *

Kaylie paced around the table on the fourth morning of training. The combinations were going fine, just in need of some tweaking here and there, but that wasn't what she was concerned about. "Are you sure it's okay for us to let them sleep in?" she asked her brother and Hilary.

The rest of the bladers were either with them in the kitchen, or relaxing in the 'family' room.

"Don't worry about it Kaylie," Kenny said.

"Yeah, Amy and Tala deserve some rest, I can't imagine how this is affecting them come nightfall, so it might be nice to just let them sleep," Hilary smiled.

"Fine… but if Amy explodes I blame you guys," muttered Kaylie, finally taking a seat.

"Why would she explode?" asked Lee.

"You don't know her… she's very… particular about what time she wakes up at…" Brook explained.

"Or, at least she was, you never know now," shrugged Courtney, "having kids may have changed that in her."

"This is true," considered Brook.

* * *

Cool air blew in through unknown cracks in the old window, 'causing a certain woman to snuggle closer to her red-haired husband for warmth. She wasn't really asleep still, merely awake with her eyes closed. Which meant, she heard the soft, tenor chuckle of said husband from her action.

"I thought you had someone fix that," she grumbled.

"Now why would I do that? It's not like it really bothers us." She knew he was grinning at her.

"Today… we finish this," she growled, referring to all training they had done.

Tala wrapped his arm around her, nodding his head, "Yeah."

* * *

Kaylie tapped a pen against a clipboard she had, "We need a battle strategy."

"Shouldn't we wait for Amy and Tala before we start planning ?" Melissa asked.

"We'll inform them of the plan when they come down and they can alter is as they see fit. Rick, Courtney, Melissa and Daichi will be our demolition squad," stated Kaylie, pointing to each person.

"Demolition squad?" Daich echoed questioningly.

"Yup, that means any sort of barrier that we may face, we'll trust you guys to take down with your Drop Torrent and Spark Cutter. It should be no problem for you guys."

"What classifies a 'barrier'?" asked Melissa.

Courtney rolled her eyes, "Gates, walls- any inanimate object that may block our path."

"Gotcha."

"Obviously, Amy and Tala are going to head the rescue squad, which means we need volunteers for the attack squad. I think Max and Tyson are going to have to be on that team- we didn't waste three days of them learning that attack just so that they could infiltrate the place without a fight." Kaylie flipped through her notes, trying to think of up a decent strategy.

"Maybe, we should take those who are the best at the combinations and place them in the attack squad, everyone else can help out with rescuing. Aside from Amy and Tala I mean," suggested Hilary.

"Alright… that puts Ian, Spencer, Bryan, Kai, Brook, Lee, Ray Mariah, Kevin and Eddie on the attack squad with Tyson and Max. Leaving the rescue squad to Michael, Gary, Sadie, and Emily with Amy and Tala," said Kaylie.

"Put Bryan and I on the rescue squad," ordered Kai.

"Why?"

"'Cause it's more likely that they are going to run into Boris, Cole and that head of that fort back in Canada," said Kai.

"Not too mention, that it also evens up the teams a bit more," Kenny added.

"Put Rick and Courtney with the rescue squad as well, so that they can knock down any shields Boris puts up, and Mel and Daichi will remain with the attack squad," Amy's voice drifted into the kitchen as she walked in, Tala behind her.

Kaylie nodded, adding each name to the lists.

"Tell me, around what time today can we attack Bolkov Abbey?" Tala asked, his tone dark.

"As soon as the chief and Kayle finish up with tweaking the blades and Michael and Gary have a smoother combination," Lissa responded.

Tala and Amy glanced at each other with a smirk, "We'll make sure they do."

* * *

Thea's legs felt like jelly as she was forced to stand for a second day in a row. Her wrists were swollen from the taut ropes that bound them above her head. At times, when her legs would give out, she would swear her shoulders were going to dislocate. She shivered with cold as the bitter wind hit her chilled body.

From a glass window, above the arena, her brother looked down at her with worry.

"All you have to do, Dimitri, is agree to blade for me. Become my student and your sister will go free," Boris promised.

"You'll stop hurting Thea?" he asked with wide eyes.

"I swear it."

Dimitri considered his options. If they continued to wait for their parents, Thea would just get worse and worse treatment… if he agreed to blade for Boris, he'd never see them or –possibly- Thea again. Plus, there was no guarantee that Boris would hold up his end.

"How do I know I can twust you?"

Boris smirked, those words were golden- it meant that if he played his cards right, he'd have the boy brainwashed by nightfall.

"I _always_ keep my word."

There was something about this man that Dimitri knew he couldn't trust. Not just the fact that he authorized the kidnapping and 'breaking' of his sister and he, but something more.

"Take your time in deciding… just remember, ever minute you take is an extra minute of torture for Thea," threatened Boris.

He gnawed his bottom lip in an indecisive matter. His sister's life depended on his decision.

"I…"

* * *

"Come on, you have to do better than that!" Amy complained, rubbing her temples.

"We've been at this non-stop for an hour now!" argued Michael.

"Yeah, and we haven't even had breakfast yet!" whined Gary.

"You can have breakfast once you do this right," promised Tala, his arms crossed firmly across his chest.

Michael sighed, "Come on Gary, let's show 'em."

"Right," nodded the large man, "go, Galzzy!"

"Trygle!" Both men launched their beyblades.

"Now! Super Bear Stomp Cannon!" they yelled in unison.

"You know… the combination might go a bit smoother with a shorter name," Amy muttered, not understanding the reason behind the four lettered name.

Tala sighed and shrugged, "If it works…"

"It doesn't though," she grumbled.

"It might."

"If it doesn't work this time, I'm petitioning for a new name."

As though something were taunting her even further, the move did work- and Gary got to have his breakfast.

* * *

Amy looked down at her Hein blade, Nicol panting at her side. "This is it… don't let me down."

"_When have I ever let you down?" Hein asked, clearly amused._

"I wasn't just talking to you," she responded, stroking Nicol's head. "We'll show them that this old dog still has some bite, right Nic?"

Said dog wagged his tail, letting out an intimidating bark.

"That's wight," she grinned, ruffling the dog's ears. Her smile faded a bit as she clued in on the fact that she had just sounded like Thea. _Don't worry baby, we're coming._

"You ready?" Brook asked, standing beside her. A spire from the roof of Bolkov Abbey was in view.

"I've ready for this since the start of this week," she responded, clutching Hein tightly. Nicol growled at her side, rising to four paws and raising his hackles.

Kaylie walked to the front, "Alright, demolition team- start the attack!"

"Good luck guys!" cheered Lissa.

"Be careful!" called Hilary.

"Attack team follows demolition squad," instructed Kenny, "don't do anything to completely destroy your blades."

"Jeez, thanks chief," Tyson rolled his eyes, "ready Maxy?"

"You bet Tyson," Max nodded, locking Draciel into his launcher.

"Alright Court! Let's bust some gates!" Rick bellowed, "Go Rock Bison!!"

"Let's go Sohi!" Courtney pumped her arm in the air.

"Drop Torrent!"

With a loud crash, what once were iron barred gates turned to twisted pieces of metal scattered across the frozen courtyard of the old abbey.

* * *

"You two, go check what that noise was!" Gil ordered, pointing at two men close to the entrance of the arena. "The rest of you, get back to work on the brat, I want her brother to hear her screaming from his cell!"

"Gil!" barked Boris, "your tactics are taking too long; I want that boy working for me!"

"And he will sir," Gil bowed, pasting a fake look of loyalty on his face, "by nightfall, I promise he will be begging you to take him as a shooter for the sake of his 'dear sister'."

"He'd better, or it's your head," snarled Boris, stalking out of the room.

"Oh no sir," growled Gil darkly, "it'll be yours." He spun on his heels to address the men surrounding Thea, "Get to work you scum!"

"Sir! We're under attack!" the voices of one of the guards sounded from his walki-talki.

"We're what!?"

* * *

"Gravity Twister!" Max and Tyson bellowed, the giant typhoon racing towards the lines of guards that had lined up to prevent their invasion.

"Terrestrial Lightning!" ordered Lee and Brook as the ground shook and began reshaping itself- lightning shooting up from between rock faces.

"What the hell!?" demanded one guard in the midst of confusion.

* * *

Amy watched the proceeding attack with a smile on her face, waiting patiently for the signal to move forward. Courtney and Rick had rejoined them after making short work of the gate and now stood beside Michael and Gary. Sadie and Emily were on the other side of them with Kai and Bryan far to the left.

Tala stood beside Amy, unsmiling. He wore a hard expression on his face, Wolborg firmly set in his hand. He cast a quick look to Amy, bent down beside Nicol- waiting patiently.

"Sand Stamolyu!" they heard the final two members of the Blitzkrieg Boys yell and that caused a grin to etch itself onto Tala's face. That was the signal.

"Alright Nic, go find Thea and Dimitri," she whispered to the husky, releasing him from his leash and quickly following in pursuit as he bolted towards the abbey. The rescue squad slipped into the building unnoticed- the guards too busy with the attacking bit-beasts to even notice the nine young adults, one teenager and one dog.

Nicol's nose was glued to the cobblestone floor as he raced through the abbey- he had caught one of the twin's scents and had decided one was better than none.

"Intruders!" two guards who were _not_ fighting outside (obviously) bellowed, pulling their revolvers from their holsters. Emily and Sadie, however, were too quick for them.

"You guys keep moving, we'll hold them here," Sadie encouraged, nodding to Emily as they launched their blades.

Amy nodded to them, swiftly dodging the guards- Tala doing likewise only making sure his fist connected with the stomach of one of the guards. Kai and Bryan swiftly followed- with Courtney, Rick, Michael and Gary close behind.

"Guardian Bite!"

The echoing clang that was unmistakably the after effects of the attack rang clean through the abbey. _Nicely done, kid,_ Amy couldn't help think to her former apprentice, _you've learned well._

There were more obstacles waiting along the path as they followed the old husky through the abbey's labyrinth, more guards that separated Gary and Michael from the rest of the rescue team. But like Emily and Sadie, they told the others to keep moving. Another obstacle was a solid steel wall that Nicol was determined to get past. Barking and scratching at it signaling the possibility that one of the twins was right behind it.

"Leave this to the demolition team," Rick said a little too exuberantly to be taken seriously.

"Go Sohi!"

"Alright Rock Bison! Knock it down!!"

The bit-beasts readily performed the Drop Torrent technique, quickly rendering the metal wall in pieces. Nicol raced past the debris, his bark echoing through the murky halls.

* * *

Two guards standing outside of a steel door looked at each other in confusion as they heard loud barking slowly getting closer to their position. Why was there a dog in the abbey? They got their answer when a loud growl caused them to turn their heads in the direction that barking had come from.

Their eyes met with the ice blue ones of a _very_ angry husky and then to the two- equally angry- young adults standing right behind him.

"Shit!" one of the guards cursed, reaching for his revolver.

"Novae Inferno!" yelled Tala and Amy before the man could even cock his gun. The result was probably a lot more gruesome than they had thought it would be, for- just a hint as to what happened to the two guards- what happens to flesh when it is engulfed in flames? It burns.

And when the flames are as hot as hell's fire, it incinerates. And by incinerates, I mean _everything_. All that was left of the two were melted revolvers and metal keys -which almost made Amy pity them… keyword: almost. They did after all kidnap her children and did God-knows-what to them.

"Any doors need to be busted?" Rick asked excitedly, while glancing at the steel door.

Taking off her jacket, she wrapped it around the smoking ring of keys. "That won't be necessary," she said, maneuvering it so that she had a firm hold –through the cloth of her jacket- on a brass key that matched the lock on the door. With a simple twist and click, the door was pulled open.

Dimitri flinched as the steel door creaked open and slowly, he slunk further back into the cell- trying to block Thea's cries from his ears as well as trying not to think about what _they_ were going to do to them now. He opened one sapphire eyes, making out the outline of six people. There were never that many guards; it must be something really bad.

He squeezed his eyes shut and then felt… a warm wet tongue lick his face? He reopened them to be met with the familiar blue eyes of a certain old dog. "Nic?" he whispered questioningly before throwing his arms around the husky's neck. If Nicol was here, that must mean…

"Oh Dimka," he heard his mother sob before pulling him into her safe –and very warm- embrace. He felt the gentle press of her lips against his hair as she wrapped her jacket –now metal key free- around him.

She could feel him shivering against her, or was he shaking from fear- or, perhaps, it was both. His skin was like ice and it shook her to the bone when his usual bright, and vibrant tone cracked out the single word. "Momma?"

"I'm here sweetheart," Amy breathed into his hair, "I'm here." She slowly lifted him off the ground, cradling him as close to her as she could. Nicol paced around her, sniffing the ground, hunting for the other twin. She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder and turned to meet the caring, sapphire eyes of her husband.

"Dad?" Dimitri looked up at him with an almost pained expression.

"Hey there cowboy." He gently ruffled his son's hair.

"I'm sowwy," cried Dimitri.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong?" Tala asked, cupping his son's face soothingly.

"I couldn't pwotect her… she's getting huwt because of me," his son sobbed. Neither parent had to ask who he meant, the emptiness of the room was answer enough.

"Dimka, do you know where your sister is?" Amy asked, carefully, having noticed that Nicol was just circling with no luck on the matter.

Dimitri nodded slowly. "I-It's a giant cicoowar woom wif piwwars and stuff," he tried to describe.

"Bet it's the old arena," growled Kai from the entrance to the cell.

"Uncle Kai's here?" the young boy asked his parents.

"That's right, and your Uncles Spencer, Bryan, and Ian as well," Tala smirked, "they all came to rescue you and your sister."

"Hey, what about us!?" complained Courtney, crossing her arms across her chest stubbornly.

Amy chuckled despite her fear for her daughter. "And your Aunties Courtney, Melissa, Kaylie, Brook, Sadie and Lissa. They also brought reinforcements with them."

"That's right, kiddo! We brought our brother's and their teams all for you," Courtney winked at the little boy as Amy, Tala, Nicol and he exited the room.

"You know how to get to the arena from here?" Tala asked Kai, "I've never been in this area before."

"That's because you were _his_ prized pupils," growled Amy, her son still sitting protectively in her arms, "I know the way from here. I was dragged there from this corridor many times."

"Hey, Amy," it was Rick who spoke up, "you want us to take your kid out of here?" It was a strange act of kindness from the man and earned a confused look from everyone but his partner, who just smiled brightly.

"Yeah, we'll bring him to Kaylie, Kenny, Hilary and Lissa. That way he'll be safe and out of harm's way," stated Courtney.

Amy looked down at her son, having just got him back and not really thrilled about the idea of him going somewhere where she would not be able to see him. On the plus side, however, he would be with their friends and she at least knew what he would be doing.

Tala nodded to them, "It'll be easier to take Boris down without him there."

"C'mon, tiger," Courtney grinned as Amy offered him to her, "we're gonna go wait for your momma and daddy outside."

Dimitri, however, had other plans. And those other plans included clinging to his mother like his life depended on it.

Amy gave a half-hearted shrug before returning her attention to her son. "It's okay, sweetheart, your auntie Courtney is going to take care of you. Your dad and I will be right out as soon as we get Thea, okay?"

Dimitri shook his head, "I don't wanna go. I wanna hewlp get Thea back too. Momma, don't make me go…"

Tala made an offer to take him from her instead and it seemed that Dimitri had no problems transferring from one parent to the other. "Listen now shorty, your mom and I need to focus solely on what's ahead and getting your sister back, we can't do that if we're worrying about your safety as well. Go with your aunt and let your mom and I have one less thing to worry about, alright?" His tone was deathly serious, and for a brief moment Amy thought it would be too much for the little boy -after everything that had happened to him- and he might start crying. But, just as she was about to tell him off, Dimitri nodded holding his arms out to Courtney so that she could take him.

"We won't be long," Amy promised before she and Tala took off down the long corridor, with Kai, Bryan, and Nicol right behind.

It may have been almost twenty years since she had been this deep into the abbey's labyrinth, but when one had lived such horrors as she had in this place one does not easily forget. She led the way through the twisting halls as though she had a map right in front of her. Neither parent could really think straight, for they were all but blinded by rage at the echoing cries of pain from someone they held dear.

Nicol seemed to have picked up on Thea's scent for now he bolted ahead, growling savagely as his paws clinked against the cobblestone. But there was another reason for his growls. He had caught the recent scent of one most hated man in the same direction as one most loved little girl.

Cole smirked as he saw the dog's approach and swiftly avoided his attack. _About time,_ he thought to himself as the four other adults came into view.

Nicol, snarling bitterly, retreated back by Amy's side, warning Cole that if he tried anything, he would lunge again.

"Well, well, the Calvary arrives," sneered Cole, pacing in front of them, his hand reaching for his blade.

"Get out of the way, Cole," growled Tala, not even bothering to reach for his Wolborg. He could have the boy cowering without the use of his beyblade, that was proven when he first tried to infiltrate the place.

"Now, why would I do that?" asked Cole, mockingly.

"Because you don't have any of your father's lapdogs to protect you this time," snarled Bryan, cracking his knuckles.

To their surprise, Cole let out a loud laugh. "They are not my father's men anymore, they're Boris'. My father's dead. But, Boris gave me a new toy to play with and I'm dying to test it out." Cole pulled out his new Ginryu Chaos G blade and attached it to a launcher. "So… who wants to dance?"

Amy was about to reach for her Hein Firestorm X when Kai moved forward, his Dranzer Metal Spiral already ready for attack. Bryan was at his side in an instant, also ready to fight.

"Go get your kid back," Kai ordered, his hand firmly set on the rip-cord.

Amy smiled warmly at her brother, "Thanks Kai." With a nod from Tala, the two pressed forward.

Cole was about to stop them when Bryan stepped in his way, "I thought you wanted to test that new toy of yours, and frankly we want to test our new moves too."

"You'll regret those words," threatened Cole, launching his blade at them. "Ginryu! Wings of Darkness!"

Both Kai and Bryan launched their blades in retaliation, ordering, "Blazing Stroblitz!"

* * *

Amy and Tala crept into the old arena and very nearly exploded with rage. Surrounding their daughter was three men, all carrying brutish whips and revolvers. Tala clenched his fist tightly as Amy reached for her Hein, ready to incinerate them if necessary.

To her surprise, Tala stepped forward, signaling out the men. "Hey! Get away from my girl!" he barked, not reaching for his blade as though he thought he could take them all on without it.

The men stopped to turn at him, a dark smirk on their faces. They remembered him from his first attempt at rescuing his children. They stepped away from the battered girl –who looked quite hopeful at the sight of her two parents- and move towards Tala and Amy, grinning viciously and cracking their knuckles –for they also remembered the little brat who once gave them a hell of a lot of trouble.

At that point, Tala did reach for his Wolborg, much to Amy's relief, launching it along side Amy's Hein.

"Hein-

"Wolborg-

"NOVAE INFERNO!"

"_Be careful about Thea," Amy thought to Hein._

"_Neither Wolborg nor I would ever dream of hurting her," the flaming wolf promised._

Amy relaxed a little as the flames engulfed the men -making them scream in agony until they fell silent. Stepping around the smoldering mess as the flames died down, Amy pulled a knife concealed away inside her pant pocket, cutting the rope that held her daughter captive.

Tala readily caught her as her legs gave out, hoisting her up into his arms. "I got you, Princess, you're safe now."

"Oh really?" an annoyingly familiar voice asked.

Both Tala and Amy spun around to face the old abbey master. Nicol raised his hackles and bared his fangs, sensing his mistress's unease at the arrival of this strange man.

At Boris' side was none other than Erik's once most trusted man, the one who had ended his life with a single bullet not but a few days prior. Gil. He had a revolver already set in his hand, pointed at the two.

"Well, well, Ms. Hiwatari, we finally meet again," grinned Boris, "or should I be calling you, Mrs. Volkov now?"

Amy could understand why the old man didn't know of her relationship with Tala, after all she had not been present when he had confronted Boris before the BEGA tournament and wound up hospitalized.

"And it seems you two have gotten much stronger since we last met."

"It's Duo beyblading sir, it allows the shooter to strengthen their attack power by combining the bit beasts attack," Gil explained, his gun still lock, loaded, and pointed at them.

"Hmm… tell me Tala… how _would_ one without emotions feel if they lost the one they cared about?" asked Boris, nodding to Gil.

Tala couldn't move, he watched the gun change from being locked on him, to Amy. _NO…_

BANG!

"NO!"

* * *

blackamber- Oh, me and my cliffie's...

Kai/Tala- I. am. going. to. _Kill_. you...

blacakmber- WAHHHH!!! WINDY SAVE ME!!

Windy- I'LL SAVE YOU HURRICANE TWIN!!!

Sadie- So weird...

blackamber- Oh, that reminds me, I just discovered that Thea is an ACTUAL name... I thought I made it up... anyways it means Gift of God.

Windy- So pretty...

Bryan- R&R

* * *


	23. The End?

* * *

blackamber- This is it... the final of We Will Fall Together (sobs!)

Bryan- Umm... it says here you're going to do one more installment...

blackamber- I AM!! But... Tala and Amy won't be the main characters! (wails)

Melissa- Then who will be? (thinks) OH! IS IT ME?!?!

blackamber- NO! You'll find out at the end!

Amy- (sigh) Usual disclaimer

* * *

Recap: _"Hmm… tell me Tala… how _would_ one without emotions feel if they lost the one they cared about?" asked Boris, nodding to Gil._

_Tala couldn't move, he watched the gun change from being locked on him, to Amy. _NO…

_BANG!_

"_NO!"_

* * *

Now, let's further recap…

Amy stared down the barrel of the gun that was pointed at her. She could see Gil's finger twitching on the trigger in anticipation. She knew what was about to happen; she knew he was about to kill her. And yet, she couldn't look away nor could she move. She was frozen, staring at the offending weapon.

And just as the man's finger began to pull back on the trigger, a flash of fur raced past her.

BANG!

"NO!" Amy screamed as a loud yelp echoed through the arena. Yes, it was Amy who had yelled, not Tala. She had yelled as the broken body of her beloved dog slumped to the ground a fresh bullet wound in his chest.

Boris glared at Gil, silently berating him for missing and shooting the furry nuisance instead of the Hiwatari girl, correction, Tala's wife.

Gil snarled bitterly, reloading the gun. At least now there was no mutt to get in the way.

"_It is that man from the fort," growled Hein._

"_It is," Amy agreed._

"_Want me to crunch his face off?" asked Hein with a dark growl._

"_Can you do that?"_

"_No, but I can incinerate him," offered the wolf, appearing beside her in all his glowing glory._

"_Incinerating sounds nice…"_

* * *

"Is that _really _the best you boys can do?" mocked Cole, his new Ginryu blade twirling beside him with the winged and horned wolf hovering readily above the blade.

"We're just getting warmed up, right Bryan?" Kai turned to his partner, expectantly.

Bryan chuckled darkly, "That's right, you haven't seen anything yet."

"Dranzer-

"Falborg-

"Blazing Stroblitz!" the phoenix and falcon soared towards the wolf, performing their special ability. Falborg's usual Stroblitz attack encased –and strengthened- in a ring of swirling fire, with enough focus, the attack had the potential to be just as powerful as a counter balanced attack.

The combined attack hit Ginryu head on, sending the blade flying backwards, but that did nothing to deter the man controlling the blade's attitude. "Come on Ginryu!" he yelled in frustration, "Shadow Shifter attack!"

"Dranzer! Blazing Gig!" ordered Kai as his blue Dranzer blade broke away from its position beside Bryan's blue Falborg.

"Go on, Falborg, Stroblitz attack!" shouted Bryan. The separate attacks did damage on their own, and fueled the rage burning from within Cole. Any idiot could see what was happening in this beybattle. He was losing.

And because he was losing, he was seething. Frustrated and confused as to _why _he was losing, he began to transfer his anger towards his bit beast. "Ginryu, finish this! Death's Apocalypse!"

* * *

The flaming wolf glared at Gil, receiving a surprised look from Boris. He had never seen a bit beast appear when their blade was not spinning. Gil was unimpressed though, after all, Ginryu was once an untamed bit beast as well.

"I dare you to point that gun at her again," Hein growled, stepping in front of his human friend.

Tala, having regained the ability to move after watching a beloved pet get shot in the place of his wife, gently placed Thea on the ground and stepped protectively in front of her, his Wolborg blade ready in its launcher.

"You know, Hein, I don't get the point behind bit beast experimentation," admitted the man holding the gun, "in my opinion, something so unnatural, should be destroyed."

"We'll see who's unnatural, vermin," snarled Hein, his gold claws digging into the floor of the arena, ready to launch himself at either man.

Gil smirked, about to ready his gun when, "I want that bit beast captured," came an order from his right.

"Sir?" questioned Gil, looking at Boris.

"Such a powerful bit beast, one that can leave its blade… I want him captured," Boris repeated.

"With all due respect, sir, he is an untamed bit beast, I can't captured him," stated Gil, finding the man to be getting on his nerves.

"Then tame him," growled Boris as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"I'm afraid I won't do that, Boris."

Boris looked at the man in alarm, "What was that?" How dare this subordinate refuse an order!

"I won't tame that bit beast, it –along with countless like it- should be destroyed and that's what I will do," Gil said, indifferent to Boris' tone.

"Now listen you-

Gil turned towards him with the gun pointed at the Abbey Master. "I don't have to listen to you anymore. After all, I have the gun and what do you have? Nothing but the clothes on your back," chortled Gil darkly. **(A/N: YAY! New word!)**

Amy stole a glance towards Tala, who nodded back at her. Both had easily noticed that the attention of the men before them was completely off of them and focused on each other. Amy suspected that if Gil didn't kill Boris now, Boris would pull something out of that cloak of his and kill Gil, leaving only one of the two alive. That would leave them- her and Tala- to take down the other while he was still reloading his weapon.

They silently launched their blades, keeping Hein and Wolborg close to them as to not alert either man to their plan.

"Now Gil, I can be reasonable," panicked Boris, realizing his mistake of not having a single hired thug that had not originally worked for Erik. After all, they had so easily betrayed Erik to work for him, what was to stop them from betraying him?

"The time for 'being reasonable' has long passed, Boris," smirked Gil, cocking the gun. "I'm running the show now and frankly, you have long since passed your usefulness to me. Goodbye, Boris, it has, dare I say it, been a pleasure?" His sneering taunt echoed through the arena and was quickly followed by the deafening gunshot that was emitted from the gun.

The one good thing at how loud the sound was, was that it perfectly masked Amy and Tala ordering Hein and Wolborg to perform their 'Novae Inferno'. The only sound that followed the gunshot was the agonizing screams of Gil as the flames engulfed him.

Amy ignored the sound, moving over to her barely breathing husky. The dog whimpered, thumping his tail weakly against the floor when he saw his master.

"Hey Nic," she whispered painfully, watching as the dog's eyes began to slowly fade, "you're such a good boy, I'll miss you." She pulled the dog into a hug as he slipped away, entangling her fingers in his red patch of fur at his scruff, his blood leaking onto her pant leg.

Tala picked Thea up off the ground, waiting patiently as Amy bid her dog farewell before standing up and walking over to him. She ran her fingers gently through her daughter's hair.

"Ready to go, sweetpea?" she asked, tenderly.

Thea nodded, shivering slightly from cold and snuggling closer to her father for warmth.

"We just have to pick up your uncles Kai and Bryan on our way out, alright?" she smiled through her pain- the husky who now lay dead behind them meant a lot to her, given to her by Ronnie, for her when she first willingly celebrated her birthday with the Carters.

* * *

"This is impossible! You shouldn't still be spinning!" Cole shrieked as Ginryu began to wobble.

"Well we are, so what are you going to do about it?" Bryan taunted, "Falborg, let's finish this!!"

"Go, Dranzer!" Kai ordered.

Both blades struck Ginryu at the same time, sending him soaring against the brick wall and shattering the blade.

"Now," growled Kai darkly as he cracked his knuckles, "it's your turn."

Seeing the murderous glare in Kai's eyes made Cole panic. He looked wildly around the narrow hallway for an escape route, not wanting to face the man's wrath. As he turned to run, he was met with another murderous glare- this one from a sapphire eyed man.

"Hi there, Cole," Tala growled, handing Thea over to Amy.

"Not so tough now that you don't have _daddy's_ men to protect you, huh?" mocked Bryan, taking a daring step towards the trembling, dark haired man.

Tala gave him a hard round house punch, forcing him against the wall, "If you so much as come within twenty feet of my family again, I _will_ kill you."

"I think twenty's still to close," glared Kai, clenching his fist, "make it fifty feet."

Cole gulped and began to nod quickly, trying to ease their tempers. "I won't ever go near you again, I swear it… I'll even leave the country… just please… don't kill me," he whimpered.

"He's not even worth the effort," stated Amy, walking past them.

Tala raised his fist once more, watching amusedly as the man visibly flinched at the action. With a small- yet harsh- laugh, he stepped back and followed Amy.

Cole let out a small sigh of relief, which didn't last long. For as soon as Amy was out of sight, Kai rounded on him and gave the man a punch of his own –which was a lot harder than what Tala had delivered. Satisfied as the man cradled his now broken nose, Bryan and Kai stalked after Amy and Tala.

* * *

"Momma… I'm still weally cold," Dimitri mumbled, as Amy helped him put on a sweater.

"I know sweet heart, but you'll warm up," she promised, kissing his head, "now why don't you go bug your father."

"I'm bugging you?" asked Dimitri, looking a little teary eyed.

"I never said that, Dimka," Amy smiled, rubbing her nose against his, "go on now."

Dimitri gave her a small smile before racing out of his and Thea's room.

"Momma, I'm weady to come out now," Thea called from the bathroom as Amy walked past. The small girl insisted that if she was old enough to get kidnapped, then she was old enough to take a bath by herself.

"Okay," Amy called back, walking in. Looking at her soap-covered daughter, she couldn't help but laugh. "I think you missed a spot, sweetpea."

Thea looked up at her in a confused manner.

Amy knelt down beside the tub, picking up the facecloth and gently wiping away some grin that was on her face. "Deep breath, baby," she ordered before dunking her beneath the water briefly. "There, now you are soap free," she smiled, lifting her daughter out of the tub.

"I coulda done it," pouted Thea, as she got wrapped in a warm towel.

Amy laughed lightly as she gently began to dry Thea's hair. "You feel better?" she asked.

"I'm still kinda cold… but not wike befowe," Thea replied, trying to help towel herself dry.

"Well, you can sit right in front of the fireplace then," promised Amy, "no matter what your aunts and uncles say."

Thea grinned up at her mother. "I knew you were gonna come… you and daddy… I knew you wouldn't weave us."

Amy pulled her daughter into a tight hug, "If we could have done so, we would have been there much sooner. Your father and I, we'll always come for you when you're in danger or if you need us for anything. We're always here for you, no matter what."

Thea smiled, hugging her mother back. "So… awe you and daddy gonna have more kids now?"

Amy laughed, kissing her daughter's head, "We'll see."

* * *

"You guys better hurry up or you'll miss your flight," Tala said, ruffling his twelve-year old son's hair.

"We've got lots of time, right momma?" Thea retorted, shouldering her small carry-on pack.

Dimitri nodded, "Yeah. You just want to get rid of us to have more time with mom," he teased his father.

Amy giggled, a two-year old son in her arms, and a five-year old daughter at her side. "Don't be too much trouble for your uncle," she stated.

"Don't worry mom, I won't be," promised Thea, "though Dimka… I'm not so sure about."

"HEY!"

Tala chuckled, rolling his eyes at his twin children. He gently embraced his eldest daughter, "Have a safe flight, princess."

"I'll miss you daddy," she responded, returning the hug.

"Be good, Dimka," Amy said, hugging her son while minding the little boy in her arms.

"Aww, mom, why do you only say that to me… Thea's just as much trouble," the twelve-year old pouted.

Amy rolled her eyes, tussling his hair, "Because, you always start the trouble."

"Bye monkey, I'll see you in a couple of months," Thea said to her little sister, hugging her.

"Bye…" the little girl said, her soft voice barely heard above the noise of the terminal.

"Come here, champ," Tala beckoned to Dimitri as Thea went to bid her mother and baby brother goodbye. "You take care of your sister, alright?"

"Don't I always?" Dimitri grinned, "you take care of mom… and try not to be… too active,"

"Don't be a smart ass," growled Tala, gently cuffing him on the back of his head.

"Try not to miss us too much momma," Thea said.

"I'll try not to," her mother smiled, "but I can't say the same thing about your father or these two."

"Bye Dylan," Thea said, kissing her baby brother's head.

"Thea… weaving?" he asked.

"Only for a little while… I'll be back before you know it," she smiled.

"Umm… kay," the boy grinned.

"Bye-bye, Dimka," the five-year old girl said, hugging her big brother.

"Take care of yourself, Cali," Dimitri smiled, ruffling the little girl's hair.

A young husky pup whimpered in his carrier, wanting to get out and bid everyone farewell as well.

"Sorry Skye, you can't come out until we get to Japan," Thea told the young pup as an attendant came to take him onto the plane.

"We'll see you there!" the twins called to him as he was carried away.

"Now you really have to go," Tala said.

"We'll be watching for you guys on TV," promised Amy, "good luck."

"Knock 'em dead champ," nodded Tala to his son.

"You got it, pops," Dimitri waved as he ushered Thea towards the gate as she continued to wave to her parents.

Tala looked towards his wife who was waving to their daughter, then looked towards the little girl at her side. If Thea was supposed to look like her mother, than this little girl was a spitting image. Everything from her hair to her eyes screamed Hiwatari blood.

But then again, their second son was almost identical to him. He said almost, for the boy still had a bit of growing to do… okay he had a lot of growing to do. He bent down, lifting Cali up. "Alright, monkey, let's get you home," he said, smiling over at Amy.

Their time as bey-bladers was done. Now it was their children's turn.

* * *

blacakmber- If you haven't guessed by now... Thea and Dimitri are going to be the main characters of the last installment... YAY!! ... now I just need a name...

Amy-... If they're twelve... that makes me... Thirty at the end of this chapter... Wow... I'm old...

blackamber- Keith -Claire's son- will also be in the new installment... which I will begin writing as soon as I think of a name... Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated...

Bryan- These notes also state that you're planning on having a filler chapter in the middle of your new installment...

blacakmber- Uh-huh... I blame the catchy songs from the Buffy Musical episode... they make me want to have a musical... man... I wish I could WRITE a musical.

Tala- Anyway... R&R


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